Divine Intervention
by Limited Imagination
Summary: A fallen angel got a chance to redeem himself. He was sent to a new universe filled with heroes and villains to do a task that is unknown to him. Will he fail or will he succeed? What will he do with a team full of teenage hero-sidekick? Crime fighting devil. It makes sense. Don't overthink it. Rated T for a suggestive theme, strong language, crude humor, gambling, etc.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**I had this idea for quite some time. The whole thing about this project was to explore how an invincible angel learns to become a human, which is a thing that I take from the Lucifer series.**

 **I asked myself, how would an angel react to a universe so messed up as the one DC has. And how would he react to a group of teenage superheroes? Batman? Wonder Woman? Darkseid? Klarion? The Endless?**

 **The power level of the protagonist would be that of an angel like Lucifer in the Sandman series. A reality wrapping, universe ending level being. His personality, however, will be absolute bonkers like those lovely people in Lucifer series. That should balance things out, I guess.**

 **I reckoned I could write a new chapter at least 2 times a month.**

 **So, let's see how it goes, shall we?**

…

 **Hell**

Hell was in turmoil. Well, more than it supposed to be.

5 years ago, Lucifer decided to take a "Vacation" on earth. The throne was left empty.

Demon and Fallen angels alike laid claim to the throne, but none could hold it for long. The power struggle was perpetual. When one lord or lady gain too much power, the others teamed up to bring him or her down.

But that's a story for another time.

…

Sitting inside the darkest depth of hell, one humanoid awaited. Once, he was an angel. Once, he tirelessly worked with his twin sister, Azrael. Those were a happier time. His family was whole. **Dad** , **Mom** , and a countless number of siblings.

Sure, they did not always see eye to eye. Lucifer and Azrael always enjoyed pranking Amenadiel, their oldest brother. Uriel was a prick who always ruin everything with spoilers. Still, they were one big family. A family full of bonkers, but a loving family, nonetheless.

Until **Dad** start his project called humanity, that is. Many of his siblings didn't like it. Him? Well, back then. He was too loyal to **Dad** to question anything.

Of course, you know the story. Lucifer rebelled. The family split apart, broken, never to be whole again. **Mum** convinced **Dad** to send their rebellious children to hell. Everything went quiet for a while.

Until **Mum** turned on **Dad** too, and off to hell she went. Still, during that time he didn't say anything.

About 2500 years ago, however, he had enough. Fed up with the disgusting behavior of these so-called humans, he confronted his **Dad**. They argued but nothing gets anywhere. So, he came down on earth to prove the flaws of humanity. He wanted to show **Dad** that his pitiful creation was not worth the pain it brought the entire family.

Alas, it was not long for him to be deemed fallen. So. Off to Hell he went as well.

His name was **Apollyon**. The angel of destruction, God's wrath. Some might know him in another name. **Abaddon**.

…

Sitting inside the darkest depth of hell, Apollyon was bored out of his mind. He had no intention to claim the throne for himself. Nor did he have any regret in the crime he was sentenced for. Thus, he was struck in a hell loop that didn't serve its purpose. It didn't punish him. He didn't want to get out. So, here he sat wasting his time away.

He knew he could get out any time. But for what? He didn't intend to fight for the throne. Sure, he can decide to take a vacation on earth like his brother, but he didn't see any point in doing so.

All he would see were flaws of mankind. He can't enter heaven, not without having to fight his siblings.

And he hated fighting among his family members above all else.

Boredom was a hell on its own indeed.

…

Certain rumors were spreading in hell. **Mum** had broken out and she was now on Earth. Well, good for her. If **Mum** and **Dad** could get back in each other good graces once again, there might yet be a chance for his family to be whole.

Well, considering that most of his siblings were an absolute dick, the chance was very low.

Speaking about dicks.

Another rumor was more disturbing. Lucifer had killed Uriel. Some said he did it to protect **Mum**. Some said he did it to protect his human that **Dad** put in his path. The detail didn't matter, his brother was dead.

Apollyon didn't want to believe it. But the source he heard from had rarely lied. He was devastated. Sure, he hated the know-it-all jerk, but that jerk was still his brother. Now, Uriel was lost forever. His family would never be whole again.

…

Apollyon sat in the shadow. He learned to ignore anything that happened in front of him a long time ago. The hell loop was imaginative and always find a weakness to torture its inhabitant. Lucky for him that he didn't have one.

Until he saw a man with a familiar face with two white beautiful wings. The man was Caucasian with blonde hair. His eyes were bright blue. He greeted Apollyon with a genuine smile, something that was rarely found down here in hell.

"Holy Shit! Raphael? Damn, after all these years the loop still surprise me." Said the fallen angel.

Apollyon silence his mind. A technique he developed to combat the ever-changing tricks of the hell loop. It couldn't mess with you if it couldn't get in your head. He didn't want to entertain himself with the loop. Not when he tried to mourn for his brother.

Still, Raphael was still there when he opened his eyes once again.

"Oh. You're real. What the fuck are you doing here brother?" The fallen angel asked. "Did you piss off dad too? How mighty Raphael had fallen."

"I missed you too Polly." The archangel replied with a smile.

Damn, how he missed a friendly banter with his sibling. Especially the one that was not borderline insane or an absolute jerk.

"Why did everyone insisted on calling me that? Lyon is a much better nickname."

"You kinda answer your own question their little brother." The archangel snapped his finger and winked.

Raphael was always a nice guy in the family. A bit quirky and cringy at a time, but he was the one that closest to normal than any of his siblings.

"So. Why are you here for? I'm pretty sure that **Dad** didn't have a redemption policy. He didn't even have a good reason for sending me here in the first place."

"Dude. You converted to Buddhism. **Dad** was livid."

"Hey. Buddha was a cool guy. His teaching helped me dealt with my problem and raise above my grief. Pretty sure, **Dad** was just jealous. Still, I didn't do anything wrong. I don't need his forgiveness."

The archangel laughed. The fallen one was skeptical.

"Take it whatever you will, Polly. **Dad** sent me here to bust you out. He had a job for you. He said only you could do it."

"And what makes you think I would take this job?" Asked the fallen. He stood up and looked his brother right in the eye.

Well, he needed to look up. He was a whole head shorter than his brother. A single trait that everyone in his family kept reminding him of it in the good old days.

Apollyon was a short Asian man with a stocky build. His hair was jet black and so did his eyes. More importantly, he didn't look a single minute older than 24, a trait he shared with his twin sister. One difference was that it made Azrael looked cute but made him looked a tad bit immature.

That was another thing that everyone always used to irritate him.

"Geeze. Let's see. Hmm. For one, you can get out of this place. I am sure you didn't have a Stockholm syndrome, whatever "Stockholm" was. That should be more than enough, really." Raphael matched his younger brother glance with his own.

"And …" He paused. "Dad said our family integrity is at stake. Whatever that means."

Apollyon was on the fence when he heard the word family. Deep down he hoped that its mending was still possible. There would be no chances he won't take if it could make his family whole again. Still, he wanted to play it cool.

"I told him to send me instead, but he insists it must be you. I told him Little Polly gonna need a good night sleep for his growth. He was still too young to …"

"I'm in … if it will make this torturing session stops." Apollyon interrupted. The last thing he wanted to do in hell was to listen to Raphael's legendary yearlong awful mumbling.

Raphael, on the other hand, smiled once again. His mission was accomplished. It was almost too easy.

…

 **Lux, Los Angeles.**

The evening went by as usual for Lucifer. He helped with the case at the LAPD. Partying all night at Lux. And he was ready to have a long and meaningless sex until morning.

Well, he was going to if he didn't have to entertain an unexpected guess in his penthouse.

A brother he didn't see for many centuries.

Apollyon.

"Oh, mine. Polly! What a surprise. Finally done with the detention I presumed." The devil greeted his younger brother. His British accent made it a lot more condescending.

"Ha. Ha. Ha." The younger angel sarcastically replied. "I don't know what's worse. Spending a time with you or listening to Raphael's story."

"Come on." The devil opened his arms and raised his brown. It was a stance for "Seriously Bro?" in Heaven. At least, it was the last time he checked.

Thing went silent for few seconds. Then they both chuckled.

"I miss you brother." Both said at the same time. They gave each other a bro-hug.

The lift opened and out came Amenadiel.

"Polly?"

The eldest sibling was shocked. Out off all his sibling, Apollyon was the last one he expected to find here on earth. He no longer had a power to bring his fallen siblings back to hell. He was sure that Lucifer would not help him either.

"Oh. For **Dad** sake. Can't anyone just call me Lyon for once."

"Why are you here brother?" Asked the eldest.

" **Dad** sent Raphael to give me a job. I'm here for a small chat before I go my way."

"You mean Raphael busted you out?" Asked the devil.

"No. Raphael came and gave me a job. You know I could leave anytime right?"

An awkward face on both of his brothers was all the answer he needed.

"Why didn't you even come to say hi when we were down there?" The devil questioned.

"Well, Lucy. It might be because you are such a dick who didn't even bother to come to visit me when I was cast down."

All three of them smile at each other and genuinely laughed. Oh, how they missed a family banter.

"So. I heard that **Mom** is out." Asked the youngest.

The two older brothers looked at each other but didn't say anything. Their smiles turned to frown.

"Polly." The Lucifer paused. "Mom's gone." Amenadiel finished the sentence.

"Mom's gone?"

"Lucifer ignited the flaming sword. Use it to cut a hole in space and time. Mom's life flooded through and it closed up behind her." Amenadiel explained. "And he told me via emojis."

"What. The. Fuck." Apollyon was devastated. "And what's emojis?"

…

 **3 hours later.**

The conversation between the three brothers was long and intense. As intense as the drinks they had in hand. During those time, they already emptied one-third of what Lucifer had in his penthouse.

"So. You send **Mom** to create her own universe? With a flaming sword that was supposed to be destroyed by dad? Which also turned out to be Azrael's blade that Uriel stole and bring down?" Apollyon tried to make sense of everything. "And also you need to combine it with some weird amulet and Amenadiel's necklace? And somehow you found out that Amenadiel is **Dad** 's favorite from an ancient Babylonian text?"

"Well. I need something stronger than this whiskey." He refilled his glass. "And here I thought we had a chance to be a whole family once again."

"Polly. You, of all people, should know that **Mom** and **Dad** gonna fight again after their honeymoon is over, right? Asked the devil. "It was the only way."

Sighed. Apollyon mouth was shut. Deep down he knew it was true. He just hoped that things would go in the different direction, for once.

"So. You are going to another universe? That was somehow a lower level of existence? Where superheroes and aliens are real, and the universe was under threat and reset itself every few years?"

Lucifer raised his voice.

"What kind of drug did you or Raphael taking? Because I want to have one."

Lucifer drowned another glass of single malt whiskey. He felt like he earned it after the ridiculous thing he just said. Amenadiel, on the other hand, was too drunk to speak. Losing one divinity was a bummer.

"Hey. That's the best I could get from Raphael's explanation. I already tried to listen, you know. But he kept going on and on and on and on and on. It was so boring."

"So. What does **Dad** want?"

"No idea. He doesn't tell Raphael either. You know how he works."

"Right … And you trust that?"

"Well. This time, yes. Anything to get our family back together." The younger angel finished his drink and pour another one. He offered his brother the same.

"For our family." He purposed a toast.

"For our family." Lucifer raised his glass in response.

"Foer$*Y&)$*T(**ndmnIly." Amenadiel fell face first on the floor. He passed out right on the spot.

Apollyon stood up. So, did Lucifer. The gave each other a bro hug.

"It's my cue to leave then." Said Apollyon.

"Take care."

"I will."

…

 **Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles**

The sun was about to rise. Apollyon watched the beautiful scene alone. Sunrise was one of the few things he appreciated in his father's work.

There were some human couple spending their lovely time there too, but they couldn't see him. It's a trait he shared with his twin sister, Azrael.

Speaking of a sister.

"So, you came. Rae-Rae. Seeing me off for one last time?" He greeted his twin sister.

"Don't be like that Polly. It's not like you will be gone forever. You can come back when your job is done."

"Yeah. And thanks to how **Dad** operate, I don't even know what it was. Lucky that we are immortal, right?"

The chuckled. Apollyon always enjoyed his twin sister company. It was as if they supposed to be one entity but somehow spilt into two when they were born.

"I'll miss you. Sister."

"I'll miss you too. Bro."

They hugged as the sun darted above the horizon.

…

 **Somewhere, Earth?**

"Well. Here goes nothing." Apollyon closed his eyes. He let his Dad's power guide his way. With a blinding flash of light, he was gone from his universe.

…

 **Masak Mavdil, Hell**

The hellish sky crackled. Unholy thunder boomed. The entire realm shook as Apollyon descended to the lower plane of existence's hell. The realm was a mimic of the hell he came from. It just consisted of much more fantasy elements in it.

" **Why the fuck did I become a giant skeletal pterosaur with a fur collar and a fabulous purple bird wings!** "

…

 **That's the first chapter folks. I hoped you like it. Please leave a comment so I could be a better writer.**


	2. Chapter 2: Minor Adjustment

**Chapter 2: Minor Adjustment**

…

" **Why the fuck did I become a giant skeletal pterosaur with a fur collar and a fabulous purple bird wings!** "

…

 **Masak Mavdil, Hell**

There was a saying in hell about an endless pit no demon dared to wander.

"Masak Mavdil's darkling mist arises, cloaking all that hell despises.

All the hell scorned, reviled. Rejected, ejected, and exiled."

A hell within the hell itself.

…

A giant winged demon soared in the sky of the Masak Mavdil. An unholy storm blew every time its wings flapped. All its denizens of hell knew it was not wise to stay within its path.

All its denizens knew that to go again this demon was to go against death itself.

Its name was Abaddon. The Destroyer. One of the Satanic Triumvirate.

Apollyon awoke finding himself changed into this weak and frail duplicate when he arrived here. He was not happy about it.

The fallen angel found this body nothing but a complete mockery. A fake. A weakling.

Lucky for the fallen angel. He still had his divinity and all his power from the higher realm of existence. And he intended to do something about it.

…

 **Tower of Dis, Dis (Hell's Capital)**

On the throne sat a serpent queen. Her large serpentine body towered all her courtiers. Her face was an emotionless death mask that could make a seasoned warrior shivered in fear.

Her name was Ran Va Daath.

Once, she was merely a demon ruler over the land west of river Acheron. A mere small region compares to the endless landscape of hell. Once, she waged a war with Archduke Belial. A war that ended in a mountain of corpses where they used as a bed to copulate. She sired him a son, Etrigan the Demon.

The old saying in hell still rang true. "Beware who you are fighting with, for an enemy always make a good bedfellow."

But that was the past. Because at the moment she, along with her son, was a Satanic Triumvirate.

She was a sole ruler of hell considering that Etrigan was merged with Jason Blood once again and Abaddon want nothing but circling the sky of Masak Mavdil.

Speaking of Masak Mavdil…

It was a normal day of her court until an earthquake of a titanic proportion shook the entire plane. All nine provinces of hell felt it wrath as the hell itself turned on its denizens. News traveled from all god-forsaken corners about the devastation it caused.

This incident didn't bode well with the Serpent Queen. She knew that someone was responsible. Someone that could challenge her rule.

Someone that needed to be disposed of immediately.

All the clue led to Masak Mavdil. The Serpent queen didn't hesitate for a second to march her army there. There was no need for an investigation. All the denizens of Masak Mavdil were those who were exiled from the nine provinces.

Failed Usurpers. Usurped demon lords. Her late husband, Belial, included.

For the record, he was on the top of her list of perpetrators. Not that the rank on the list was important or held any values. She aimed to purge them all.

When she arrived at Masak Mavdil she only found it in ruin. Well, more ruined than usual. Everything there was dead aside from one thing.

Abaddon.

The winged demon landed in front of the serpent queen. The ground shook as two triumvirate met face to face. The sky cracked as the lesser demon scrambled for safety. A battle of a titanic proportion was likely to go down.

"Abaddon." She called his name.

"Close but not quite." The winged demon glowed. He radiated a divine light that made all demon covered in fear. The serpent queen included.

As the light died down, the winged demon disappeared. What was left was a small Asian man with black hairs and eyes. He wore a deep purple waistcoat over a light pink shirt and a matching pants. He might not be as fashionable as Lucifer, but he was not that far off.

"I prefer to be called by my Greek name. Apollyon."

"Charmed. Quite a choice of attire there, love. But you were much better looking before you transformed into this puny mortal form."

"I know why you're here Ran. Yes, I unleashed the quake. I just want your attention."

The Serpent queen gave him a dismissive glance. That were bold words from such a small and puny-looking man. Yet, he was still Abaddon, her equal in the Triumvirate. There was no one better in hell that could unleash a devastation of that magnitude. Still, she couldn't think of the reason for him to do it. He was already the ruler of hell, along with her.

And she knew he had no desire to rule alone. In fact, the blind bastard had no desire to do anything except flying around Masak Mavdil.

"Well. You now have it, love. What do you want?"

The serpent queen saw no need to be indirect about it. She could not show any weakness here, especially in front of her equal. Least she wanted to give her minions an idea that rebellion was an okay thing to do.

"Just to say goodbye, actually. I have been offered a job elsewhere. I'm relinquishing all my claim of Hell to you."

Ran didn't believe what she heard. Had Abaddon gone mad? Because it seemed he does. How can anyone escape hell without a retribution? Still, she would like to entertain the idea.

"So where are you going?"

"Don't know yet. Maybe, earth. That should be a good start."

Yep. He was completely mad. She was sure of it.

"An invasion?"

"More like a vacation actually. Adios, bitches."

Apollyon snapped his fingers and disappeared with a shining beam of divine light. The light tore through the sky of Hell and destroy everything in its path. After the smoke cleared, the serpent queen was left alone.

…

 **Washington D.C., Earth**

 **1941 A.D.**

The fallen angel found himself in the world of man. With a limited knowledge of this universe he gained from the body of his demon duplicate, he knew he had arrived on earth. It seemed that his gift from **Dad** was still working as no one seemed to have noticed a man popping out of nowhere in the middle of the street. So, he took his time to observe the humanity.

He knew **Dad** sent him here for a season. He needed to figure out why. Maybe being in this lower realm of existence had some problem that **Dad** want him to fix. Raphael mentioned that this universe always has an interdimensional crisis every few decades. Maybe **Dad** want him to fix that too?

" **Dad.** You know the job would be much easier if you tell me what you want, right?"

As if it was fated to happen, his rant was interrupted by a bright light in the shape of an ankh. People scattered as they see a man came out of it.

"Go back to the pit you came from, demon. Your existence disturbed the very order of the universe."

Apollyon turned. He saw a man in blue wearing a golden helmet and a gold cape. He radiated quite a respectable amount of power.

Still, he was nothing compared to the fallen angel. Apollyon was sure he could obliterate him with a thought.

The man was in a stance to unleash his magic. His hand glowed with power. The power Apollyon somehow recognized.

"Nabu. And its host, Dr. Fate. What a surprise."

Dr. Fate blasted him with his power. An ankh-shape light darted across space and hit the fallen angel right at the center of his chest. He felt nothing. Not even a tickle.

"What pleasure do I owe the lord of order? Hmm." He continued.

Seeing that the first attack had no effect. Dr. Fate blasted him in the face.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. I'm talking to you!"

Once again, he was interrupted by a loud thud behind his back. He turned around to look, ignoring a blast from Dr. Fate that kept hitting him with no effect. The magician weaved a spell that bound him in a chain of light that meant to reveal and restrict him. A bound that he could get out of anytime.

What he saw was a woman clad in red and gold armor, a gold diadem with a red star, silver bracelets on her wrist, and two red star earrings. Her long straight hair was black. Her light blue eyes were beautifully gleaming like a starlight. Her lips were red like a rose fleshly prepared for a lover.

Apollyon had to admit he was stunned by the wonderful woman in front of him.

Until she punched him right across his jaw. It didn't hurt him physically, but it was not a good impression either.

Unless you were the angel of destruction like him. Then it was a textbook definition of love at first sight.

"What with this barbarity? Can't we discuss it in a more civil manner?"

"What's is there to discuss, demon?"

She spoke. Her voice was deep and demanding. Lovely, he thought. It was a music to his ears.

"Demon?"

He raised his brow and shrugged his shoulder. The binding spell was broken in an instant. Fearing the woman would no longer see him, he decloaked himself.

"How can anything but an angel be this perfect?"

He sprouted two giant wings from his back. It spanned over 7 meters long. The wings coverts were grey while the rest of the feathers were light purple. The pair gleamed with power that could entrance any mortal in awe. On the top of his head hovered a silver halo crown, emanating an aura of dread.

He gave her an alluring smile. She didn't buy it.

"What sort of angel would escape from hell?" She threw her lasso at him. He caught it with his right hand. It glowed with its enchanted power.

"The best one. And probably the one you go to the bed with." He entertainingly answered. "Holy shit. The lasso that force one to tell the truth? Interesting. I want one."

The woman and the magician looked at each other. Then she looked back at the fallen angel with confusing eyes, then back at the magician.

"Can we talk now?" Asked the fallen angel.

…

 **3 hours later**

It turned out that the lovely woman he was punched by was an Amazon, a powerful race of female warriors blessed by Greek gods. Apollyon was surprised that his **Dad** allowed these puny entities to sully his title. Well, if his **Dad** was okay with it then there was no reason for him to do anything. Aside from that issue, he liked it when he knew she was called Wonder Woman. It was a fitting name.

Apollyon wondered what sort of wonder she could show him.

'Geeze. Did I just turn into Lucifer? Gross.' Another thought came into his mind. Weird. It had never happened before.

Apollyon discovered that he arose to earth when its denizens were having a big war. Well, as big as a third-degree backward civilization in a black water planet could have. The war was not unknown to him though. He remembered an influx of damned souls flooded hell after about 1940 years his younger brother, Jesus, was born as a mortal in the universe he came from.

'Then this means **Dad** sent me back in time too. Interesting.' Thought the fallen angel.

Apart from Dr. Fate and Wonder Woman, he noticed more of these so-called superheroes surrounding him. They used to call themselves Justice Society of America. A group of costume individual who vowed to fight crime and injustice. Since they fought the war for something called the alliance, whatever that means, the changed the group name into All-Star Squadron.

Silly them. For there was no justice involved in a war. Nor any star in that matter.

The team debated among themselves about what to do with him. Apparently, Dr. Fate changed his mind when he knew Apollyon was an angel while Wonder Woman still insisted that he was dangerous.

Oh, how adorable these mortals thought they were. Did they not know that they were as threatening to him as a bunch of little penguins?

A penguin with a machete in the case of Wonder Woman.

…

"So. Let me get this straight. You are an angel? Like angel, angel? The messenger of God?" A man that the others call Flash asked. Apparently, he was a speedster.

"Yes. But not from this level of existence." Apollyon casually answered. Seeing the confusion in the room, he continued. "Are you familiar with a multiverse theory? The existence of many parallel universes? Well. Let's say I came from the one above all of you."

Everyone has a look of WTF on their face.

"It's okay if you are confused. A new idea always brings awe and confusion. Yesterday, I had been introduced to emoji myself. It was riveting. You know. How every conversation could be condensed into a series of specific pictures."

"What's an emoji? Is it some sort of Hieroglyph?" Asked Dr. Fate.

It seemed the fallen angel forgot he was sent into the past too. Emoji wasn't supposed to exist until 1999 A.D.

"Yeah. Err. Forget about it. It doesn't matter."

He hoped the knowledge of emoji ahead of time would not destroy the universe.

…

The debated went on. And on. And on. And on.

Come on. Don't you know what this means?" Flash spoke. "He is an angel. God is on our side. The war is as good as won."

'What a foolish man. **Dad** never takes sides.' The thought made the fallen angel smiled. 'He didn't even pay attention to us. His own family. Why do you think he would care about you?'

"Don't get too much ahead of yourself Mr. Garrick. I have neither intention nor capability to assist in this war of yours."

Tensing his muscle, Apollyon broke all the restraint that had been put on him.

"A being like me is forbidden from interfering with mortal affairs. There is a law that even I must follow. The reason for me to be here is my own. There are things that are much more important than your puny war."

He channeled his power. His body levitated as it unleashed a miasma of darkness.

"I might not be able to meddle in the affair of you mortals. But I wish all of you the best. When all seems lost you know who to pray to. Who knows. Maybe my **father** would let me do some … let say a divine intervention."

His words stunned the Everyone in the room. Well, all but the Amazon Princess.

"It's nice knowing you all. Gentlemen." He sexily smiled. "And lovely lady such as you too. Mrs. Prince. Maybe after the war, I will see you around."

He vanished after finishing his speech.

…

"Well. He seemed to like you, Wonder Woman." Said the speedster.

"Shut up." Replied the Amazon princess.

…

 **Unknown, Unknown**

After Apollyon left the mortals to their own fate, he felt a calling. This calling was unique. Certain powerful beings wanted to have an audience with him. An idea he also wanted to entertain.

The fallen angel appeared in a metaphysical realm that housed six individuals. Each of them was an integral part of the multiverse as a manifestation of its driving force. If all of them combine their power, they could even rival his own.

Well. If all seven of them combined their power. By missing one, Apollyon had nothing to fear.

"The Endless, I presume? What pleasure do I have for this calling?" Asked the fallen angel.

The Endless. A dysfunctional family not different from his own. All of them represent each aspect of the multiverse. Destiny, Dream, Death, Destruction, Desire, Despair, Delirium. Each was perfect and flaw in their own ways.

They reminded Apollyon of his own dysfunctional family. Yes, he was already homesick.

"I liked him already. Can he be our new third brother?" Asked the third youngest, Desire. This one was mischievous. Not much different from his twin sister, Azrael.

"Nonsense. No one can replace Destruction. Our brother will come back. He just needs some alone time." Jabbed the youngest sister, Delirium. She took the form of a little girl. If the said girl was absolutely crazy and wise at the same time.

The banter. Oh, how he missed his family.

From the memory of his demon shell, Apollyon recalled that Destruction abandoned his post around the 17th century on earth. Yet, even without doing his jobs properly, destruction still occurred. Something he would take note on. He might need to bring it up when he had time to contemplate about his duty.

"What do you want?" He asked. "I already have one messed up family. I do not intend to be in another one."

"We wouldn't think of it, O' Great One." Destiny spoke. "It was just that someone wants to meet you. Someone that want us to be here too when you two meets."

"Who?"

"The Presence." All six siblings uttered the name at the same time.

" **Dad**?" Asked the fallen angel as he noticed another entity behind him. This one was far more powerful. To compare himself to this entity was akin to a firefly tried to outshine the sun.

"Just a part that this level of existence can contain, My son." The entity that called the Presence answered.

The Presence assumed the form of an old man with a white hair and a gentleman mustache. He wore a small top hat and a cane. He dressed in an ashen gray suit and a brown shoe. A good fashion sense ran in his family after all.

"Right. It's about time you show up. **Dad**." Apollyon gave his father's presence a right hook to the jaw. " **You Bastard!** "

…

 **The next chapter would be a collection of Apollyon dicking around. Then the story will involve a character from Young Justice (Sidekick team) in the chapter that follows.**


	3. Chapter 3: Celestial Hijinks

**Chapter 3** **Celestial Hijinks**

…

"Right. It's about time you show up. **Dad**." Apollyon gave his father's presence a right hook to the jaw. " **You Bastard!** "

…

Apollyon punched his **Dad** so hard his fist was obliterated in an instant. He screamed not in pain but in frustration. Unfazed by his injury, he used his divinity to restore it while using his left hand to give **Dad** an uppercut.

The result was the same as before but that didn't stop the fallen angel to stop. No matter how much he needed to rebuild himself, he would not stop until the justice was served.

His justice, no more, no less.

"Now I see why the Presence wanted us here." Said the second oldest sibling. Death. "This man is an absolute nutjob. A handsome nutjob."

Death assumed the form of a pale goth girl. Like her siblings, everything about her was perfect. Her friendliness reminded him of his twin sister. In a word, a perfect goth-girlfriend material.

If you could look past that one time she grew tired of her job and let nothing die for a while. And she needed to be begged to resume her position while chaos reign.

Actually, Apollyon would like that too. He would go for it if she allowed him to.

Maybe … no. She reminded him too much of Azrael. It would be too weird.

"Ooo. Did Death got a crush again?. Considering this one is immortal, he might live past tomorrow." Jested Desire. He/she would leap at any chance to irritate his/her elder sister.

The soul freezing glare he received from his sister confirmed that he/she succeeded.

"Duh. There you go genius. Of course, he will live. He was more powerful than six of us ... Holy shit!"

The retorted was cut short as Apollyon bellowing in rage. As the physical assault would not work no matter how hard he tried, the fallen angel decided to unleash the full might of his divinity.

At his full power Apollyon could accidentally destroy the entire universe with a mere thought Had it been any other entity but the Presence, they would be removed from all space and time.

The Presence stood unaffected amidst the rip and tear in the very fabric of reality. His son, however, fell to his knee exhausted. The father smiled and said nothing. This son of his was always quick to anger but he was always as fast to forgive. Something that would never change no matter how long the time had passed.

Picking himself up, the fallen angel demanded. "I will give you one chance to apologize."

"Apologize? You attack me." He smiled. "Tell you what I can do. I can forgive you."

"I. Don't. Need. Your. Forgiveness!" The son's eyes lit up. "I suffered. We suffered. All because of you!"

"Tell me. Just what do you think I've done?" The father joyfully asked.

"What have you done?" Apollyon screamed. "You neglected your family. You let all the shit that had happened happen. Now Uriel is dead. Mom's gone to create her own creation. Some of us still locked up and twisted in hell."

His eyes burnt with a purple fire.

"You! You sent me to hell because your ego couldn't handle the truth. I found a wise man who found a better way, an anomaly in your flawed creation and you condemned me for it. It was all you! All the shit that has happened was because of you, father."

His skin was burnt away as his demonic side started to show. His wings were set ablaze. His body was turned marble white. His skin cracked and seeped with a black void. Hellfire burnt in the place where his eyes used to be. Blood rained down from his halo. Locusts sprout from his marble-like flesh, eating it way out. This was what Apollyon had truly become.

In a swift moment, Apollyon's rage turned into sorrow. Red tears rained down from his eye sockets. He collapsed down on his knee once again.

"Why did you forsake us? *sob* Don't you love us, father?"

No longer a ranging demon. Only a broken pathetic man.

"So. Apollyon. Do you want my apology? Or you want your family back?"

"OUR. It's OUR family. **Father**." The fallen angel corrected.

"Then you will do what I want you to do. Be the son I want you to be. You will live your life among humanity you despise so much." The Presence ordered. No. He decreed. "You are a smart boy, Apollyon. When the time comes, you will know what to do."

As mysterious as he appeared, the Presence vanished.

…

"Wow. The Presence is a dick." Commented Delirium. "And you. I guess you are quite cute. Not cute-cute, but more of a bipolar-cute."

"I could live with that, O' dear Delirium." The fallen angel regained his composure. He acted as if his mood swing never happened. "Do you mind if we get to know each other more?"

He winked. The youngest of the Endless chucked and tucked her hair behind her ear.

Seeing that his younger siblings were going to do something stupid again, Destiny, the eldest of the Endless intervened.

He was blind, but he saw all. All things that had happened, would happen, could have happened, should have happened, and so on. Chained to him was the Book of Soul, that recorded all thing that is and ever will be.

"It's time we take our leave. Great One, if you will excuse us. Dream needs his beauty sleep, or he will get cranky." The blind entity bowed his head.

"I did not!" Retort the third sibling, Dream. He was known by many names. Morpheus. The Sandman. The shaper of form. Prince of stories.

"You kinda proved Destiny point there, Dream."

"Hold on a minute." The fallen angel stopped their banter then went silent for a long while.

"I think **Dad** asked all of you here for a reason. Especially you, Destiny."

Things about to go bad. Really bad.

"When the time comes, you will know what to do." He mockingly repeated his **Dad** word. "Yeah right. Like I gonna wait for that shit."

Some say God always has a plan. If it is destined to happen, it will happen.

He snatched the book right from Destiny hands. Being as powerful as he was, the Endless could do nothing but watch. Apollyon eyes gleamed and sent out a beam of blue light. He saw things that people wouldn't believe. A young boy with his parent murdered right in front of his eyes. An entire planet blew up after one small spaceship was launched into an endless void.

He saw two tetrahedra engraved with an ancient language. An ancient Enochian, the language of the angel. A language only a level 11 intelligence being could attempt to decipher it without turning mad. Others who pretend to understand it was a sham.

One tetrahedron was held on the neck of four eyes supreme archdemon. The other was locked away in a vault somewhere. He saw the two combine and a divine light surged forth from it.

Then he saw …. Himself battling with someone from the beginning until the time itself died out.

And with that, he too disappeared, leaving the Endless alone.

"An absolute madman with a colossal daddy issue. Yummy." Laughed Delirium. "So, sister. Do you want him? If not, I hope you don't mind if I do."

Death could only roll her eyes in disbelief. This was too ridiculous, even for her delirious sister.

…

 **1946 A.D.**

 **Royal Palace, Themyscira**

The war was over. Her task was completed. Princess Diana of Themyscira had no reason to remain in such a chaotic world. Sure, she had made some friend who shares her value of justice, but they were only a select few. It was far from enough to prevent her from leaving. So, she went home. She went back to Themyscira. Back to her people, the Amazons.

Four years had passed since she encountered a fallen angel. An annoying, morally corrupted fallen angel who reeked of desire to take her to bed. By Hera, she should have run him through with her sword, God Killer, when she had a chance.

Speaking of the annoying fallen angel.

"Do you really have to think about me when you sharpen your sword?"

She remembered whose voice she just heard was. No mistake could be made about it. She readied her sword and turned toward the voice.

There he was, Apollyon in all his glory. Perfect in every way, he smirked at her with his arm shooting forward.

It was easy for him to get here. No one can see him if he didn't want to be seen by them. Well. Unless they are about to die, but the dead tells no tales.

A perfect ability for the job **Dad** originally assigned him for. To guide the soul of the fallen to the afterlife. It also made him a perfect stalker.

"You have the gall to come here demon. Explain yourself!"

"Fallen Angel." He corrected. "Why? You don't want to see me?"

She gave him an _are you kidding me_ look. Her hand held tight to her sword. She readied to strike at any time.

"That's cold. Miss Prince." He stared into her eyes. "Especially to someone who comes with a friendly warning."

"Warning?"

"There is a war blooming among the land of the dead. Trigon planned to invade Hades. If it left unchecked, the Hades will fall."

"Good. Let them tear each other apart."

"Well. Miss Prince. Had your mother never told you what lies beneath this island. Or to be more precise, what realm it connects to?"

Her eyes widen.

"If Hades fell, do you think Olympus will sit still? If Trigon won, do you think he will leave this island alone?"

Her blood ran cold.

"I am offering you a chance to avoid all this. Provided that you accompany me through the gate of Tartarus. I need someone to watch my back. Or distract a big angry demon."

"How can I know you are telling the truth?"

"Skeptic, are we? Well, you can trust me. Or your oracle. Heck, you can even invoke Apollo and ask him." The fallen angel smiled. "Geeze, do I have to do all the work for you? I'm a friend coming to help, not your husband."

He vanished as soon as he finished his sentence. Not a moment longer than when she wants to cut his head off with her sword.

…

 **A few days later.**

 **Gate of Tartarus, Themyscira**

Apollyon's story checked out. There was really a war blooming in the underworld. Not even Apollo himself noticed it. They wondered how Diana came to know about the war, but she didn't give them any.

Something was better left unsaid. Especially the part where an annoying angel kept hitting on her.

"I might have misjudged you. You are a better man than I give you credit for." She told the fallen angel before they entered the gate of Tartarus.

Her perception of him had been improved. Just a little bit. He was still an annoying man who she wants to stab every time he looked at her with those lustful eyes or speak to her with his wanton tongue.

"Oh please, Miss Prince. Don't pin your poor assumption on me. I'm doing this because I am bored, and I have nothing else to do." He jokingly answered. "That and Trigon might have something that I want."

Whatever respect he had gained, he lost it within a span of those four sentences. Wonder Woman could only wonder why she accompanied him in this mission.

…

 **1948 A.D.**

 **Gate of Tartarus, Themyscrira**

It took two long years for the war in the underworld to be over. Two people came out from the gate of Tartarus. Finally, they were back to the land of the living. When they entered, they were an uneasy allied. Two years later, they could consider each other a friend.

One was a princess of a society with an immortal warrior. Another was a carefree angel with daddy issues. Lots of issues. For example, he was throwing a small black tetrahedron that he "liberated" from Trigon neck like it was nothing important. The grand demon treated it as a prized possession, he treated it like a toy.

"So. Diana. Are you sure the curse of succubi was completely lifted? I mean we could go for another round just in case. Well I mean you don't have to if …"

Apollyon stopped as he dodged a spear thrown by the Amazon that guarding the gate. He looked at his assailant and gave her the "seriously" shrug. Other amazons were about to throw theirs, but they stopped as they saw a signal from their princess.

"Thank you." The fallen angel sarcastically uttered.

"What happened in Hades, stay in Hades. Apollyon." Replied the Wonder Woman. "Oops. Sorry. My dear Polly."

"Well. At least it worth a shot. And don't do that again!"

"For your record, angel. I have never said I don't enjoy it."

"For your record, Amazon, I didn't enjoy it as much as I first thought I would."

With that, Apollyon's body lit up and he vanished. He purposely left a sliver of his divinity to slowly dissipate as a way of saying "I'm more powerful than the gods that you served, and I could end you with a thought." The other Amazons were both in awe and terrified at the same time. Diana, on the other hand, tried her best to hide a smile on her face.

When they entered, they were an uneasy allied. Two years later, they could consider each other a friend. With benefits.

…

 **1978 A.D.**

 **Rome, Italy**

"How the fuck could I be so blind. Of course, it is in the Vatican." Apollyon cursed himself.

Then he realized he was seen by a boy who was no older than eight.

"Interesting. You can see me." He gazed deep within the boy's soul. "Oh. So that how it is. True magic. You utilized it without even knowing."

He walked toward the boy. The boy, however, was scared and tried to hide behind his mother.

The problem was, his mom couldn't see the fallen angel, so she didn't know what's that about.

" _Come now, boy. Only you can see me. Don't be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you_." Apollyon said in perfect Italian.

The fallen angel gave the boy a charming smile. It calmed him down. Of course, it was. No one could resist his angelic charm.

" _So. Young man. Do you have a name?_ " He asked.

" _Giovani. Giovani Zatara, sir._ " The boy replied.

" _Well. Mr. Zatara. Want to see some magic? Of course, you do._ "

Apollyon reached for his back pocket and pulled out a black magician hat. The boy clapped but the fallen angel was not done yet.

" _You see that this was a normal hat."_ He spun it around _._ Put a hand in it to show that there were no tricks hidden. _"Well. That where magic comes in."_

He reached his hand inside the hat once again. When he pulled out, he held a small black tetrahedron with a searing blue rune. This one was parallel to the one he obtained from Trigon all those years ago.

The boy's eyes gleamed with excitement. He clapped even louder. It was such a commotion that his mother had to stop him. Within seconds, the entire Vatican City was on lockdown. Something had been stolen. Something that was very important and supposed to be a well-kept secret.

" _So, Mr. Zatara. If you follow the news in a few days, you will know that this used to be kept in the Vatican. Yes, I stole it. Go head. Tell the police if you want. No one will believe you._ "

The fallen angel gave out a sinister laugh before he vanished. The boy was stunned. On this day he learned that magic could be used for evil. He vowed that if he had one, he would use it for good.

…

 **1980 A.D.**

 **Nanda Parbat, Tibet**

Apollyon spent two years trying to unlock what he liberated. Two tetrahedra was combined with one another into a small vault. He knew that this vault was important for what lied inside was a key to his mission. He knew that everything he saw from Destiny's book led him to this moment. Yet, he couldn't unlock it. Not even with his divinity.

He had yet to try to unleash the full power of his divinity. He was afraid there would not be a universe left after he done with it.

"Come on Rama. You must know something. You are the one who kept balance in the universe. This to tetrahedron was in balance. One reek of heave, the other, hell. I need some idea, any idea." The fallen angel ranted to the goddess.

Her full name was Rama Kushna. The patron deity of Nanda Parbat. The ruler over the scale balance and karma. She was one of the only few being on earth that was qualifying to speak with him and could tolerate his presence.

"Have you tried to decipher what is engraved on it? You could read ancient Enochian in both pure and corrupt form, right? It's your language if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes. But it was riddled and encrypted with true magic the level that I have never seen before. I couldn't risk using my divinity without a chance to tear the reality apart by mistake. Solving it traditionally would take me at least half a decade in mediation."

"Well. You better start, then. If you cannot cheat, then you need to do it the way it was intended."

…

 **1985 A.D.**

 **Nanda Parbat, Tibet**

The decipher was complete. It was, however, not making much sense to the fallen angel.

The rune engraved in the demonic tetrahedron read:

" **To unlock the seal, you must paint it with one…**

 **stroke of blood flow in those raised under a red sun.** "

The rune engraved in the angelic tetrahedron read:

" **Search for Rao, for there you will find the answer.**

 **If you want the key, you must prove you are his better.** "

"Yeah. That didn't help." The fallen angel ranted. "There was like an ass-load of red sun in this galaxy alone. And how the fuck do I gonna find the right Rao to beat the living shit out of him. I mean he could be anything. Human, Martians, Demons, Eldritch horrors, An imp from the 5th dimensions, a Spaghetti monster. ANYTHING!"

"Language! Apollyon"

"Yeah – Yeah. Sorry. It is hard for me to come down from this level of energy."

…

 **I felt like the adventure between Apollyon and Diana could be a short story about 5-7 chapters on its own. But it would be an M rated story, so I gonna leave it out for now. Maybe I will write it when I am in a mood.**


	4. Chapter 4: Overruled

**Chapter 4: Overruled**

Finding no answer for the riddle on the tetrahedra, Apollyon decided to spend his time in the mortal realm. His **Dad** commanded him live among the human, so he did. The thing was his **Dad** didn't tell him how to live his life.

So, he did it his way. Unseen and unnoticed.

Especially when he was messing around in Themyscira. After his escapade with Diana all those years ago, it was cleared he would not receive the best reception there.

Not that he was afraid. Just it would be very hard for him to have a decent conversation when there was a spear thrown at him every few seconds.

…

 **1986 A.D.**

 **Gotham**

It was a normal night as any. The street was busy. People kept to themselves. The fallen angel decided to go to see the thing that is called a movie that Diana once told him about. He found it very amusing for these mortals to act out the thing that didn't happen. What a silly concept.

Ahh, typical mortals. Always want a life they could never have.

He might need to discuss the concept of fun with Diana. It seemed that they have different kind of definition for it.

He decided to watch a movie called "Aliens", which was very ironic because of out of all aliens they could pick they picked the one that didn't exist. Mars was their closest planet and they had no idea what Martians look like. He gave it an 8.4 out of 10, whatever the unit of that was.

Still. He didn't expect to see a familiar face to greet him when he exited the theater. She was a beautiful pale girl in a black long dress. She wore a silver necklace with an ankh shape pendant.

"Oh my. What does a lovely girl like you doing here?" He gave her the sexiest smile he could. "Death."

"I'm here to do my job, Apollyon. Nothing more. Especially, not for you."

"Playing hard to get I see. I know you miss me."

She gave him a _'seriously'_ look. He gave her an awkwardly smile in return.

"Not it a million years, angel."

"Well. Let's wait and see, shall we? Don't go back on your word when the time comes."

Death rolled her eyes. Being an elder sister to Delirium put enough strain on her sanity. Now she encountered another one like her. She quickly made a mental note ' _Do not let those two have kids._ '

"Excuse me. Would you mind not obstruct the walkway please."

"Thomas, Dear. Let the two lovebirds be. It's lovely to see youngster flirt. Such an energetic couple."

Apollyon and Death were stunned as they were interrupted by a family of three. And even more stunned from the later comments.

A father, a mother, and a son. A lovely family of Gotham elite. They walked past the angel and the Endless into the alley across the street.

One would have thought a rich family like that would have their driver picked them up at the theater or something. The one thing that was clear was they were going to die. It was the only explanation why the two older Wayne could saw them.

Apollyon looked at Death with curiosity written all over on his face. Death's eyes were sad. She was not happy about what was about to happen. It was just a job, nothing personal.

"Who are they and what makes them so important such that you have to come to guide them yourself?"

"Thomas and Martha Wayne. A surgeon and a socialite. Their death will give birth to one of the most important beings in this blackwater planet's history."

"Their death turns that little boy into what? A conqueror? An emperor? A Messiah?" The fallen angel raised his eyebrows. This was interesting. "Don't be ridiculous."

"No. Just a man dressing in black bat spandex and fight crimes at night. Somehow, he would be one of the most important protectors of Earth. At least that what Destiny told me."

Two consecutive gunshots were heard. Everyone around them ran away in panic.

"It's part of **Dad** plan, isn't it?"

Death sadly nodded. She could feel Apollyon's blood boiling. There was no doubt Apollyon was angry. Very angry.

For the fallen angel who preached about how he wanted to make his family whole, this was a big slap in his face. A big slap and an even bigger middle finger.

"Whatever you are going to do Apollyon, I am going to look the other way."

"You are willing to disobey **Dad** for two lowly mortal souls?" He smirked. "You want to get yourself in trouble for such a little gain? For me?"

Maybe Death was more interested in him than he first thought.

"No. I will just tell him you overpowered me and there was nothing I could do." Death smiled. "Played a victim a bit and all the blame go to you, angel."

Perhaps not.

"You wicked bitch! … Haven't you reminded of so much of my twin sister, I would kiss you right now."

The conversation went silent after the fallen angel finished his sentence. Death turned away in disgusted.

And to hide a smile on her face.

"For the record. The answer is no. There is no gain in saving two human lives. I need something much bigger to make it worth defying **Dad** just for fun. Something like a planet worth of super soldier that could level an army on their own, or something. Perhaps I could unleash them on Apokolips to ruin Darkseid's day."

The Endless had to admit there was a funny side in how the fallen angel thought. He was quite charming in his own right. She started to like him. As a friend. She had enough craziness in her family. She didn't need another batshit-insane brother. Or worse, a bonkers boyfriend/lover.

"Now. Now. I gonna let you go and do your job. Just tell Delirium I say hi. Okay?" He blew her a kiss before vanished.

Once again Death rolled her eyes. She also blushed, but that's not important.

…

 **1999 A.D.**

 **Nanda Parbat, Tibet**

"I'm telling you, Rama. This _Superman_ from Metropolis might be the one I'm looking for. He said he is a Kryptonian and you know what? Krypton orbits around a red sun called Rao. Everything checked out. All I need to do is to go and get his blood. Woohoooo!"

Apollyon was happy. He didn't do anything much and the answer revealed itself to him. It just took him about fifteen years of messing around doing other stuff to do so.

Fifteen years was not so different from a blink of an eye for a celestial being.

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Slowdown, Apollyon. It said _blood flow in those raised under a red sun_." The patron goddess interjected.

While she was happy for the fallen angel, which in turn meant that he would not bother her much after his goal was achieved. She sure she would appreciate the quiet of Nanda Parbat once again. Still, she would be a bad friend not to interrupt him when he was clearly wrong.

"Well? I didn't see any problem here."

"Then let me spell it out for you, genius. Superman was brought up here. He was raised under a yellow sun. And Krypton, a planet that is 27 lightyears away, blew up 60 years ago! Superman was the last of his people."

Shit.

The fallen angel stopped dead in his track. Then he facepalmed himself.

"Before you throw a tantrum again. On the unrelated note. I want you to train someone in the art of combat. It's time for you to earn your keep." The patron goddess said with an adamant tone.

"You gonna charge me for being here? I thought we were friends."

"Well. A friend who constantly interrupted me when I worked and used my break for a free counseling deserved to be charged, Apollyon. Plus, you might take the liking to the boy."

"Oh. I doubt that." The fallen angel jabbed.

"His name is Bruce Wayne."

Apollyon face shifted. This was no doubt his father doing once again. He thought he acted on his own whim, but it seemed that was not the case. All the manipulation had led him to this.

Still, his anger was with Dad, not the boy. Young Wayne here was just a victim as much as he was. Maybe more. He was just a pawn in a game that he didn't know it was being played.

"Fine. But isn't he like 21 or something? Geeze, Rama. You're weird."

The fallen angel brooded for a while. He believed it was important for him to provide a good impression to his first student. Then he realized something.

"Wait a second. I can time travel. I'll train him when I'm back. See you later bitches."

"Mother F…" The patron goddess gave a half-way curse.

…

 **1900 A.D.**

 **Krypton, Rao system, Andromeda Galaxy**

Above the planet stood two being. One of them was a fallen angel, the other was the missing Endless, Destruction. A red hair entity with a magnificent beard. Ironically, the two entities supposed duty intersected and both abandon their jobs a long time ago, yet destruction continued to occur.

Apollyon had to admit, it was like looking at himself in a mirror. They were so alike in everything but power and appearance.

"Destruction. We meet at last. It's a pleasure."

"The pleasure is all mine. Fallen angel."

Both entities gazed down on the planet below. The planet that would soon cease to be. Krypton.

They were joined by another entity. One that supposed to be the most powerful in his pantheon, but his strength paled in comparison to the fallen angel or the Endless. His name was Rao and he was the Kryptonian god of light and life.

"Great one." Rao humbly asked. "It's an honor for both of you to come to witness this art."

"Art? You let this happen?" Questioned the fallen angel. This made no sense. Why did a patron god would let their worshiper die without doing anything?

The Kryptonian god went silent for a while before giving an answer. "Yes."

Then he collapsed with a fist size hole on his chest. The Kryptonian deity's eyes widen and shook in fear.

Apollyon was insensately furious. Something snapped inside him. His skin went marble white and blood seeped from his eyes. Just a mere glance made the Kryptonian god trembled.

"You have 20 seconds to explain before I annihilate you across all space and time."

"When I was young *cough*." Rao stopped to split blood out of his mouth. "Despair visit me. She gave me an idea for an artful creation. *cough*. Allow the planet to flourish, then let it be destroyed and made sure only one Kryptonian survives."

As soon as Rao stopped speaking, he received an eldritch blast to the face. It ate away his godly flesh, leaving only a void in its place.

"And you think that is a good idea?" Apollyon screamed. His eyes lit up with eldritch flame.

Apollyon tightened his fist and rushed in for more, but his fist was blocked by Destruction. He glared at the Endless only to see the same eyes glaring back at him.

"Stand down, Angel. Killing Rao will make thing worse. Without him, this system will lose its sun. Everything in the system will die."

Their eyes locked for a whole minute before the fallen angel relented. His appearance went back to normal.

"Go. Do what you come here to do. I will deal with this dipshit."

"This is not over." Apollyon engulfed himself in hellfire before descended to Krypton.

…

Krypton was about to blow up. Its population was in panic aside from one. A scientist named Jor-El. He was the only one among his colleagues that saw it coming. He tried to warn all of them, making them taking percussion, but his warning fell on deaf ears. The devastation had come, and it was too late to save the planet.

He was running a final check on his last project. A rocket that would send his newborn son to a faraway planet. It was the last thing he could do. He took his wife's hand, pulled her close, and gave her a final kiss. At least they would be together toward the end. His life was completed. He was ready.

Or that what he thought before a pissed off angel emerged behind them. The scientist and his wife screamed like a little girl.

Whatever intimate moment they had before, it was all gone.

"Oh, right. I forgot all of you guys are about to die."

" _What in the name of Rao are you?_ " A question was panickily asked in Kryptonian.

" _Don't bother to invoke that idiot name. He let your planet be destroyed for the sake of a fucking art._ " The fallen angel answered in perfect Kryptonian.

" _Who …_ " Jor-El's question was cut short as the fallen angel put his index finger over the scientist's mouth.

" _I'm the angel of destruction. You will stop asking and start answering my question if you want to save your planet. Understand?_ "

" _What …_ " Jor-El's question was cut short once again when the fallen angel choked him with the same hand. A little bit more and his windpipe would be crushed.

" _Understand?_ " Apollyon yelled. For a split second his fallen form was shown. It was terrifying enough to convince the scientist to obey him.

"Jor-EL!" The scientist's wife cried. Apollyon brushed her off with his wing. The hit was strong enough to knock her unconscious.

" _Yes._ " Jor-El frighteningly answered.

" _What is causing this planet to explode?_ "

A question was asked. Five minutes later, Apollyon regretted making it so vague. The scientist gave him an answer that he didn't understand about half the words it contained. And it didn't seem to stop anytime soon. This was getting nowhere.

"Okay. Okay. Enough." He broke the conversation. "You're telling me." He paused. "That the planet core is unstable?"

"Yes."

"If the core is stable again, the planet will be saved right?"

"Yes."

"Next time. Just skip all the scientific nonsense. Well, there will not be next time when I got what I came for."

The fallen angel's eyes lit up with a bright blue right. The tremor stopped. Krypton's core was stabilized again. The entire planet cheered. They praised a god that wanted them to die for an artistic purpose. If that wasn't irony, he didn't know what is.

"What did you do?"

"Of course, . I stabilized the core."

"How?"

"Divinity and reality manipulation. Don't think much about it. It probably too much for you to comprehend." The fallen angel adjusted his shirt. "Now, about what I came here for. I need your blood. For a greater good, of course."

The fallen angel grabbed a glass and filled it with Jor-El's blood that he drew. Satisfied, he gave a sinister smile. Mission accomplished.

Then another tremor rocked the entire planet. This one was far more destructive than before. Apollyon eyes dilated as he knew what happened. There was no doubt. He changed reality and his father disagree.

"Dick move, **Dad.** This is a bullshit level dick move."

" _What happened? You said you stabilized the core._ " The scientist screamed. He looked at the fallen angel face just to see a sadden eyes.

"I got overruled." Apollyon painfully answered. "My condolences, Mr. El. The planet can't be saved. I'm sorry."

With that, Apollyon disappeared.

Krypton blew up soon after. Its destruction threw everything out of orbit. Billion of lives were lost in an instant. The fallen angel silently cursed his father for it.

Apollyon noticed two spaceships flew pass him before Krypton fell. Seeing it doomed trajectory, he guided it toward Earth. It's the least he could do.

…

 **1999 A.D.**

 **Nanda Parbat, Tibet**

"Time travel. Never fucking again." Apollyon cursed as he returned to the present. His face was grimed. He just saw the entire planet blew up after all.

The fallen angel soaked the tetrahedra in Jor-El's blood he brought back. The Enochian rune glowed with power. Finally, the seal was broken.

Out of it came a … compass? It's a compass in a gyroscope. It could turn in 3 dimensions.

"Is this a fucking joke?" cursed the fallen angel.

"I beg your pardon?" A young man with black hair

"Ah. Mr. Wayne. Err. Sorry. I didn't notice you're here."

Apollyon crushed the compass with his bare hand. Instead of being shattered in pieces, it burned his flesh. Intrigued, the fallen angel raised his eyebrows. Then he shifted his gaze to the boy. Then back to his hand.

"Sod it. I gonna deal with it later." The fallen angel recomposed himself. "So. Mr. Wayne. Are you ready to learn the art of war from the one that helps invented it? Or should I call you, Batman?"

…

 **2004 A.D.**

 **Hidden Location, Gotham**

Apollyon couldn't believe the day would come. The compass from the tetrahedra that he crushed five years ago appeared in his hand again. Its hand gleamed with power and point to a specific place in Gotham. It was a hideout. A sort that criminal would be there to hide from the city's Dark Knight.

Still moved unseen, he entered the hideout through the window of the upper floor. There, he found a blonde little girl crying. She was no older than 9. A pathetic sight to behold for sure.

Normally, he would not feel any sympathy for this pitiful mortal. Somehow, this one made him want to pat her head and told her it would be okay.

He moved closer and bent down to her level. It was there that he looked into her eyes and found a pair of dark gray iris looked back at him.

"Oh. You can see me." Apollyon said in surprised. The compass that led him here pointed straight at her. "Interesting."

…

 **And that Chapter 4 folks. I think this is what I gonna write for this month. Now I must continue the dark and morbid story for my Adventure Time fanfic project.**

 **See you again next year (Jan 2019). Have fun guessing who the girl is.**

 **P.S. If anyone wants to be a beta reader for this story. Feel free to PM me.**


	5. Chapter 5: Acceptance

**Chapter 5: Acceptance**

 **2004 A.D.**

 **Hidden Location, Gotham**

"Interesting."

Apollyon's eyes gleamed with excitement. A girl. A mere little girl was his target. But the target for what? To be destroyed? She could see him, which meant she was about to die. But by whom?

His father sure had a fucked-up sense of humor.

"Who … who are you?" Asked the little girl.

"I'm a friend. Little human." He patted her head.

She was so adorable. Too bad it would not be for long. Surprisingly Death of the Endless was nowhere to be seen. One would think that if it was important enough for Apollyon to be here, it should be important for Death too.

Unless he was sent here to save her. The idea itself was funny, he almost chuckled.

'Sending angel of destruction to do a rescue. Don't be ridiculous.'

Apollyon was sure that his **Dad** was not so senile to send him on a duty that not only suitable for his set of skills but also a polar opposite of his assigned role. Well, unless this was one of the cosmic level bird his **Dad** ever flipped.

Actually, that would be more understandable.

Accessing the situation, he found something troubling. The little girl was sad and scared, and it was not because of him.

Apollyon didn't do sympathy. Yet, he thinks he might make an exception this time. Something deep down told him that this small, petty, easily-broken, girl was very important. Something that could be just his gut feeling or just plain old manipulation dear old **Dad**.

Decided that he wanted to calm her down and put her at ease, he took her hands. "Don't be scared. Everything would be fine."

The girl was skeptical. She hesitated for a long while before reluctantly gave him her hands. He had to admit, being nice and caring was harder than he first thought.

So much for ranting about getting family back together for billion years. It was so easy being in the role of the one being taken care of.

… Family. Care.

'Is that what **Dad** wants me to experience? Being the head of a family. Seeing things from his perspective?' He stroked his chin thinking. 'Nah. Probably not.'

"What … What's your name?" The little girl asked. It brought his attention back to her instead of within his head.

"My name is Apollyon. You can call me Lyon. What's yours?"

"Artemis. Artemis Crock."

He felt that she was opening up to him. At least, he thought she was. Truthfully, he had no idea what he was doing. He was winging it and let his angelic charm took care of the rest.

"That's a hook(er)…" He caught himself before saying something very inappropriate to an eight-year-old.

"That's a hoo! … a beautiful name. Regal. Strong. Majestic. Exquisite."

Nicely saved. Apollyon mentally cheered. 'Now. Now. Don't get cocky. I need to figure out what to do next. Chitchat maybe?' He shook her hands up and down. 'Come on. Come on. Come up with a topic before this is getting awkward.'

"So. Why are you so sad little Artemis?"

"Errr." She hesitated. Her innocent eyes met with his dominating, yet warm gaze and she could do nothing but surrender to his demand.

Angelic charm. Well. At least the type that would be expected from a fallen angel.

"My mom was hurt really really bad. She got caught and was sent to jail…"

Apollyon lifted his brow. 'Interesting.'

"Then Dad gets really angry and being really mean. Jade run away and leave me with him."

The little girl was sobbing. The memories were painful for her young and naive mind.

Apollyon gave her a sincere nod of understanding. He acknowledged her pain, as he wasn't too different. Neglected by his parents, abandoned by siblings, punished for the crime he didn't commit. He knew her pain.

The moment didn't last long, however, because they were interrupted by a loud and angry yell.

" **ARTEMIS**! **Where the fuck are you? you little shit!** "

'So. An abusive drunk father, huh?' The fallen angel wondered. 'Probably a criminal. Scum that beat his family when things got rough.'

He shifted his glance at Artemis only to see she was curling in terror. Then he put two and two together. His conclusion was certain. That's how she was about to die. Beating to death by her own father.

'No, you fucking didn't.' He internally screamed. He hadn't felt this much rage since … since …

Since he was unjustly cast down and put to hell.

He sprouted his wings and formed his halo. He might not be a punisher. That's was Lucifer's job. Still, he was the one this little girl needed right now. A protector. An avenger. A better parent that she sorely needed?

Nah, probably not.

"Artemis. Do you believe in **God**?" He turned to ask her.

He found that she was in awe at his divinity. That was normally an effect on mortal when they saw it for the first time. One glance of divinity was enough to turn a lifelong atheist into a faithful follower, let alone an innocent child.

"Yes."

"Then consider your prayers had been answered. Consider me your guarding angel."

Her eyes couldn't be more delightful. Somehow Apollyon felt satisfied and craved for more. It was like when a crippled was miraculously cured. It was like when a girl was getting the thing she wanted as a birthday present.

A present from … from a dad whom she adored and loved very much.

 **Fuck!**

'Why am I so attached to this little mortal? What am I gonna do with her? If she was saved she couldn't see me anymore.' He internally cursed himself. ' **Dad**. If you are listening and this is your sign. Well, fuck you.'

His train of thought was interrupted, however, by a large bang on the door. The little girl father was here. There was only a small thin wooden door between him and that scum.

He was going to enjoy this. As long as he didn't kill a mortal, it should be fine. It's time to set his nasty side loose.

"Artemis …" He confidently said. "Close your eyes, plug your ears and count out loud to ten."

She agreed to do so right away.

"One." Apollyon skinned paled. His eyes cracked and burnt with hellfire. He walked to the door and waited there. The banging was harder and more frequent.

"Two." Blood seeped from his halo. Locust sprawled from his chest. His hand engulfed with eldritch power. The banging stopped.

"Three." He unlocked the door and swung it open. Meeting Artemis's assumed father with his hellish gaze. The scum was a man in his late-thirties. The man was taken back by his terrifying sight. Good. This would be so easy.

"Four." He grabbed the man by his mouth and squeezed hard. It was hard enough to prevent it from moving but soft enough not to break the bone. The man was stunned by his strength and speed.

"Five." Before his victim could react, Apollyon lifted him up and moved with blinding speed. A strong wind blew into Artemis's room and then only the little girl remained. Apollyon and his victims, on the other hand, was on the other side of the hideout, far away from the little girl to notice anything.

"Six." He slammed the man's head through the wall. The scum was barely conscious when he released his grip. Good. That's mean he could have some more fun.

"Seven." He pulled the man up and kneed him on his belly. Then he gave him three consecutive jabs to the ribs. He heard some bone cracked. The fallen angel smiled. The man face was full of terror. Well, who wouldn't?

"Eight." With two quick chops, he dislocated the man shoulder. With one quick twist of his wrist, he broke the man right arm. It let out a loud crack noise that was made the angel felt a little bit better.

"Nine." He grabbed the pitiful scum by the ears and headbutted him so hard the man's light immediately went out. Job's done with one count to spare.

"Ten." Artemis opened her eyes only to see Apollyon smiling at her in his human form. She was overjoyed, and he was too. Somehow, he couldn't explain why seeing her happy made him happy.

"It's over. You are saved from him now. Your abusive father will never hurt you again. I promise." The fallen angel extended his pinky out. Artemis did the same and intertwined with him. A pinky promise had been made.

It's over. She would freak out when he disappeared as she was no longer close to death. Well, he did a good thing today. Hearing a little girl screamed and freaked out would balance that. It would make his day.

Excepted it didn't. The girl blinked and looked at him like she was waiting for him to do something else. When he turned to look at the window, so did she.

 **WAIT. WHAT.**

"How could you still see me?"

"Because I have eyes?" She innocently replied.

This was going to be very awkward.

…

 **Batcave, Gotham**

The night was young in the crime-ridden city. Everything was fine. There was a minor crime here and there but that was nothing the police couldn't handle.

To Batman, this was too quiet. And when thing went too quiet in Gotham, shit always happened.

Then his phone rang. His personal, emergency-only, phone not for Batman but for Bruce Wayne.

The dark knight picked it up. 'This better be very important.' His eyes widen as he realized who was on the other side of the call.

The content of the call was short. In fact, it was only 14 words.

"Sup, Batsy. Track my location and get your tight & firm ass here ASAP."

One could say that shit just got real. The man tried his best not to freak out. No, Batman tried his best not to freak out.

 **10 minutes later**

"Alfred. How do I look?" Nervously asked the dark knight. An uncommon sight for the perpetually brooding superhero.

"Looking good, Sir. What's the special occasion, Master Bruce?"

Well, as good as anyone who dresses in spandex to look like a bat could be. But telling a hard truth was not required for Alfred's job. One could say he didn't get paid enough, nor had any intention to hurt the man's feeling.

"I am meeting one of my martial art tutors. The one that was very strict who went beyond the word perfectionist. He is also …"

He paused. A flashback of not so wholesome memories played right before his eyes. He remembered bruises and scars on his young body from the mistake he made during his practice. What's the mistake? It called _not being perfect_.

"Immortal, invincible, neigh-omnipotent, and a real bastard in every sense of a word."

A crude summation yet all of them were true.

…

 **######## Hideout, Gotham**

 **15 minutes later**

Swung down from the rooftop, the Gotham's dark knight landed on the entrance of an ordinary looking house. He didn't know why he was summoned here, but he had a few guesses. The most likely one was that Apollyon wanted him to meddle with mortal affairs in his stead. So, basically, he expected to act at the angel's proxy in the matter. The idea of doing other people bidding was not sitting well with Batman, but there was always an exception to the rule. This happened to be one of them.

Because there is no point to resist the being such as Apollyon. Also, he owed the angel for his training and counsel.

The world's greatest detective couldn't believe how wrong he was when he swung the door open.

He found a man who had been horribly beaten. Broken ribs, fractured limbs, severe head trauma, you named it, he had it. On closer inspection, he noticed who the man was.

Lawrence "Crusher" Crock. AKA. Sportsmaster.

The poor sod didn't even know who or what happened to him. Still, it was very perplexing that a costumed criminal like this could hide in an ordinary house in Gotham. It was right under his nose, and he didn't like it. In his mind, Batman planned to adjust his surveillance routine to account for a hideout like this.

But that was not what he was here for. The crook was badly beaten, but still alive. If this was Apollyon's work, then he would still be alive by the end of the day. There was no doubt in that.

Because, in the fallen angel own's word, "Beings such as I are forbidden to take a mortal life. Unless I was ordered to by **Dad**."

A criminal beating to the brink of death aside, Batman knew it was not the fallen angel style. Apollyon once told Batman that trivial matters such as crime, war, and seeking justice was not the fallen angel concern. If you want him to make a move, it better be an event of cosmic importance.

So, Batman wondered, what event of a cosmic importance transpired in this house? And why no one in the justice league noticed anything.

…

What Batman see when he searched the house was even more intriguing. Nothing was untouched and there was no sign of fighting. It was just an ordinary house as anyone in Gotham could have.

Then he heard laughter. Not from a psychotic clown. Genuine laughter that signify joy and happiness. But who would do it here of all places? He was sure that Apollyon would not giggle like a little girl.

In silent, he moved toward the source of the noise. He reached for the door and opened it.

…

 **5 minutes earlier**

Even though Gotham was Batman's territory, he was still but an ordinary mortal. No amount of gadget or skill would make you travel to your destination in an instant.

Well, there was a boom tube, but that's not the point.

After a minute of silence, 8-year old Artemis decided to do something unthinkable. She asked the fallen angel whether he had a playing card with him. It was obvious that he didn't, but that didn't mean he couldn't will one into existence.

An action that he told her was a magic trick that no one could replicate.

"Do you have any four?" The fallen angel nicely asked. He was so intrigued that this so-called _card game_ would be this complicated. Not complicated to play, that part was easy. Why was a game of pattern and probability so hard for him to win?

Really. Where Uriel when you need him.

Oh. Right. Stabbed by Azrael's blade. May peace be upon his … well … whatever left of his soul after its obliteration.

"Nope. Go fish." The little girl replied.

"Awwww." The angel groaned.

The girl giggled. "You are pretty bad at this." She added.

She giggled again after seeing him pouted.

Their little card game was interrupted by a door creaking noise. Out of it came the protector of Gotham himself. The girl suddenly tensed up. It was understandable since he was responsible for putting her mother behind bars.

Only when comforting wings of the fallen angel sheltered around her did she be at ease.

"Ahhh. Batman. It's about time you show up. I start to think that you are getting lost along the way."

"I came as fast as I could. Sire."

"That not how it's work. You suppose to last as long as you could." Another feminine voice echoed the room. The voice that unfamiliar to Batman but not Apollyon. And for that, the fallen angel tried his best to hind his grin.

"Oh. you mean _come_ as in transportation. My bad. My bad. Hehehe." The mysterious woman continued.

"We are in present with mortals. One of which is a child here, Delirium. Please. Tone down the filth." Apollyon nonchalantly demanded.

He found the youngest of the endless lying on his lap, stroking his chin. As an opportunity presented itself, He leaned down and whispered. " _Save that when we are alone."_

"Sire …" Batman readied his Batarang.

"At ease, Batman. She's a friend." Apollyon put his prize pupil at ease. He needed to before Batman made a mistake of attacking an entity that could destroy the world with just a thought.

"Now. A pleasant unexpected interruption aside. Let's talk business. Delirium, dear, would you mind taking care of little Artemis here for a while? And by taking care, I mean play some games and I expected to see her in the same condition when I left her with you."

"Start acting like a dad now, eh? Sure. But that will cost you a favor." She smirked.

The fallen angel internally let out a heavy sigh. 'I'm gonna end up raising this kid by the end of this, aren't I? Fuck it. Why not? Are you happy now, **Dad**?'

…

Apollyon left the room with Batman, leaving the two women to their own devices. Closing the door, the fallen angel shifted his stance. There was no need to be nice in front of a little girl anymore.

He wanted answers. He wanted results. And Batman would deliver it to him.

"So. What can you tell me about the girl's father?".

"Laurence Crock. He is a costumed criminal known as Sportsmaster. Most of the time he was a muscle for hire for a crime syndicate. Thanks to you, he won't be active for a while, probably forever."

Batman tried his best to remain calm. Trying his hardest to keep his normal posture. It's hard, especially when the one questioning you was the strictest and the most sadistic teacher you ever have.

"And the girl's mother who is currently in jail?"

"Paula Crock. Also, a costumed criminal named Huntress. She broke her back during the last mission with her husband and took the fall for him. Right now, she resides in Belle Reave."

Apollyon laughed at his pupil's answers. It was well detailed and organized. An obvious sign of Batman's obsessive behavior. "You are keeping tabs on them, aren't you?"

"Sire. I keep tabs on everyone."

"Sure you do. I'm quite proud of the man you had become, Bruce. No one I had met in my long existence committed to the cause they swore to themselves as much as you are."

"Thank you, Sire."

Apollyon swore he caught Batman smiled for a few milliseconds. Good. It meant that his silly behavior started to rub off on the man.

"Okay, last question. What will happen to the girl after you hand that scum to the police?"

"She would have been transferred to an orphanage and lived there until she was 18 or when her mother finishes serving her time. Either of which is bad. An orphanage is not a good environment to grow up in, especially the one with a criminal tie like her."

Apollyon went silent. He was thinking hard and it showed. It showed so hard that start to make Batman panicked.

Of course. Why would a fallen angel who had never care about anything suddenly care for a mere mortal? What made this little girl so special? What would happen next?

So many questions that he was sure would go unanswered.

"Sire. You didn't entertain an idea of adopting …" But he asked anyway.

"I do. And I don't have to explain you anything. It's a perk of being me." Apollyon double tapped his pupil's shoulder. "Get the document ready by tomorrow afternoon. We are going to Belle Reve to talk to Miss Crock in the morning."

It was not a question. Not an explanation. It was a command. One that Batman couldn't refuse.

"Sire. The time frame was too short to set up your identification …"

He couldn't refuse but that didn't mean he couldn't point out the flaw how stupid the idea is.

"Well. I just willed one to existence. Lyon Morningstar. Age 24. An owner of a secret nightclub in Gotham, _Masak Mavdil._ Billionaire, Philanthropist, Entrepreneur extraordinaire."

Apollyon secretly hoped that his **Dad** didn't consider this cheating. The last time he changed reality like this, Krypton blew up.

"What are you waiting for Bruce? Chop Chop. Get to work."

…

 **There. The 5** **th** **chapter. Hoped you like it. The next chapter will start with a conversation between Artemis and Delirium.**

 **By the way, Happy new year.**


	6. Chapter 6: Tough Love

**Chapter 6: Tough Love**

 **2004 A.D.**

 **Sportsmaster's Hideout, Gotham**

Meanwhile inside the little girl room in the same building.

Two girls, a total stranger to each other, spent their first impromptu night out. One was just barely eight years old, the other was as old as time itself.

Yet, it somehow made more sense than a fallen angel talking to a man dress in a bat suit, leaping across the rooftop fighting crime.

"So. What's your name, little one?"

"Artemis Crock. And you?"

"Call me Deli."

The youngest of the endless gave out a charming smile.

Well, at least that's what happened outside of her head. What happened inside? Well, it's sort of chaotic beyond mortal comprehension. As expected from an entity of Delirium.

…

\- Inside Delirium's head -

 _ **SHE'S SO YOUNG. SO CUTE. SO ADORABLE!**_

 _ **I WANT TO PINCH HER CHEEKS**_

 _ **I WANT TO PAT HER HEAD.**_

 _ **I WANT HER TO TRY MY TELEPHONE FLAVOR ICECREAM I INVENTED YESTERDAY.**_

 _ **STOP IT YOU. SHE'S UNDER APOLLYON PROTECTION. THIS GIRL IS NOT TO BE TOUCHED.**_

 _ **YES. YES. IF WE PISSED OFF THAT ANGEL, WE WILL NOT GET A CHANCE TO BANG HIM.**_

 _ **EWWW. THAT'S DIRTY. STOP IT.**_

 _ **NO, WE WILL NOT.**_

 _ **DAMN IT! YOU SLUT.**_

 _ **WHAT? YOU GONNA TURN DOWN A GOOD SHAG?**_

 _ **I DIDN'T SAID THAT.**_

 _ **AHA!**_

 _ **DON'T AHA ME, BITCHES.**_

 _ **NANANANANANANANANANANANANAANANANANA BATMAN! BATMAN!**_

A thousand voices shouted inside her head, supporting and contradicting each other. All of the voices were hers and her alone. This was not a case of multi-personality disorder, this was not schizophrenia, it's just who she was. Delirium of the Endless.

Fortunately, the girl in front of her didn't notice a thing. If she did, she might be driven mad by the sheer number of voices screaming nastiness at the same time. If that didn't break her the whispers of the forbidden eldritch secret would.

…

Back in the real world.

Her smile put little Artemis at ease. There was something alluring in the older woman lips. Something that the little girl couldn't make out of. Good for her.

At least for now.

"So. How do you know Mr. Angel? What's his name anyway?" Curiously asked the girl. Come to think of it, the Fallen Angel had never told her his name. Somehow, she didn't take notice of it until he left.

Blessed her innocent and ignorant mind.

"His name is Apollyon. I know him via his father. His dad is kinda my boss but not really." The Endless leaned in and whispered in her ears. " But when you call him Polly, he will instantly throw a tantrum. But hey, you didn't hear it from me, okay?"

The grin on Delirium face couldn't be wider.

"So …" The older girl continued. "Do you do magic?"

"Like a card trick? Or a magician like Zatara." Little Artemis replied. Her eyes were blank yet filled with anticipation.

"No. No. No. Magic the gathering."

Delirium smiled and pulled out a booster box. This was going to be one of those nights.

Another victim was added to her playgroup. Poor girl.

…

Meanwhile outside the said room. The conversation between Batman and Apollyon continued.

The fallen angel idea was full of holes. A complete disregard of logic. Any idiot with a basic common sense could find a fault in it immediately.

"Sire. That's stupid. No one is going to fall for that. Anyone that could check the record would be alert immediately." Batman berated. "Even if no one finds it suspicious that a high-end night club pops up out of nowhere. Do you even know how to run a nightclub? What if the government start checking on your background and found something doesn't add up?"

The fallen angel shrugged.

Batman wasn't going to have any of it. So, he did his signature the batglare.

"Don't even bother trying. I teach you that trick remember."

Batman glared even harder.

"Bruce."

Batman glared even harder.

"It's not gonna work."

He glared harder than he ever glared before.

"This is ridiculous. Ridiculously stupid."

"Hmmm. I can say the same for your previous action, Sire."

Eyes lit up, Apollyon gave out his own glare. It's a staring contest now.

"Careful Bruce. You are playing a game you know you cannot win."

"…"

"…."

Silent befell the entire area for 45 minutes. They didn't move even for the slightest.

Until one of them gave in. Unfortunately, it's Apollyon.

It appeared that the student had become the master.

"Fuck it. Fine. Have it your way."

The fallen angel's eyes lit up. He changed the reality back to what it was before. Who knew? This might even be his **Dad** plan at work here since he worked in a mysterious way after all.

To add an insult to the injury, Batman smiled. Not sarcastically, not a slight grin, a good full mouth genuine smile. Yes, he was enjoying this. And No, he didn't do it unintentionally.

Well, Batman smiled when his teacher back was turned. No one could saw him doing it.

"Let me handle the adoption paperwork, identity, and legal documents. It should take no longer than a week. Try your best to not kidnap her or do something that inappropriate."

Apollyon heavily sighed. Why did mortal affairs need to be so complicated? It would be much easier when everything subsequently responds to his whim, and if his parent or his siblings didn't agree with it, then their power clashed and to the victor goes the spoil.

As he was assigned a role of the Destroyer, an angel of destruction, only a few of his sibling would dare clash with him one-on-one. Thus, he was quite spoiled indeed. As for now? Now he felt so powerless. Not that he couldn't change anything to his whim because he could. It was just that he knew, deep down, his **Dad** would not allow it. Only a fool would try to cheat the **Dad** 's test and Apollyon was no fool. At least that what he thought.

"Fine. Get it going. And don't even dare using my disappearing …"

He turned as he felt a sudden movement only to found that Batman had vanished.

"Daniel Espinoza! … _**(Mother F….)**_ "

It seemed the student had become the master twice in the same night.

…

Back inside Artemis's room.

"See you tap land to generate mana, then you pay mana to cast a spell. Then you cast a lot of stuff and smash your opponent face, figuratively." Delirium said with delight.

"Whoooooooooa." The little girl's eyes sparkled.

"Here's my little gifts to you. Go nuts on opening packs, little human."

The Endless toss her 3 booster boxes. Of course, the girl tore it open and checked the cards inside with glee.

Then the door opened. In came the annoyed fallen angel.

"Hey. What are you two doing? It looks fun." He masked his annoyance with a smile.

"MAGIC!" the little girl answered with a shout. A gleeful snickering from Delirium came afterward.

"Wow. Just. Wow." The fallen angel nonchalantly exclaimed as he looked toward his peer. The Endless suggestively winked at him.

"Anyway. Artemis. Your father got a timeout. He will be staying at the hospital for a long while … then jail for even longer."

"What?" The girl startled

"You need to stay at somewhere else. Think of it as a long-term sleepover."

"That's so wrong in so many levels." Interjected Delirium. "So, are you gonna adopt her?"

"…" Apollyon's mouth remained shut. Why did she need to interrupt him like that? He was working on it and it ruined now.

"Cool. This way you can be a dad and I can be a mom. We can practice raising a child before having one ourselves." She said with glee.

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. What the hell you're talking about? Who said anything about being a family?"

Even when he expected Delirium to not be 100% sane, it seemed she was even worse than what he first thought. Sure, she was attractive, and he was interested in being more intimate with her, but this was too fast. In fact, all the process along the way was skipped in its entirety.

"Well. I think it is implied after all the flirting we had."

"I flirt with you, twice. **TWICE!**! In about a century, I might add."

"Don't tell me you didn't want any of these?" She ran her hand all over her body. It was all to tempt him, and it's working.

"Stop it! First, there is a child in the room! Second, Well. I do, but that's not the point!"

Apollyon couldn't believe he was having this kind of argument. What the hell does this universe end up with?

"Well. What's are you waiting for? We are both eternal. A century is no different from a blink of an eye."

"Yes. A blink of an eye. We should, you know, seeing each other for a few millennia before dating and the other stuff."

"No. It means those time are insignificant. Let's skip to boring part and go to the fun one already." She deviously smiled. There was no mistake in seeing the obvious hunger that hid behind her lips.

"Oh, **Father**. Why do keep torturing me like this?" Facepalmed, Apollyon wished he was fighting through the horde of Trigon's minions instead. At least its goal was achievable.

"….."

So, consumed by their weird celestial argument, they totally ignored a baffled 8 years-old Artemis. She was shaken by the things she didn't wish to hear. Lucky for her, she didn't understand half of it. Her eyes were blank, as well as her head.

"I think we broke her." Said Delirium. She moved her hand up and down in front of the little girl's face, there was no response. "Yep. Totally broken. Damn, just about the time I got enough people for firing a draft pod."

"Shit. How's that happened?" Apollyon was baffled. He was also annoyed that Delirium paid no concern for the girl's well being.

"Well. I suspect that our little argument there gave out a cosmic residue. If I'm not mistaken, we are too focus in our old couple argument that we unleash a buttload of it without noticing. It's probably going to the nearest being, hence the girl. With her young mind, she could not withstand the power this residue contained, and it broke her. At least that's what I thought."

Apollyon had to admit, Delirium's theory wasn't too far fetched. If it came from any of her siblings' mouth, he might whole earthly believe them. Delirium, on the other hand, was by definition and by nature _**bat shit insane**_. Of course, he needed to take her words with a grain of salt.

In other words, he took a leap of faith in believing her.

"Then we are so screwed."

"Awwwwww. Why don't we create a new one?" She playfully suggested.

"Don't … Please. This is not the time."

"No. No. No. I don't mean like that. Well, unless you up for it." She flicked back and forth. "I mean with your power combine with mine, there are not many things we couldn't accomplish. You could create a new conscience while I mold it to the body. We could implant her old memory as well as all the explanation inside her head. We could even make her mortal no more."

As she spokes, Delirium subtly moved beside him and hugged one of his arms. "Come on. What's there to be afraid of?" She gave his arm a light yanked.

"Well, my dear Delirium. Let's see. Oh, there might be a little thing call … **DAD!** " His scream shook the entire planet. The sky split apart as if his word cleaved it in twain.

Apollyon was dead serious. Delirium, however, being herself and she didn't show any worries. Not even one. A total contrast of emotion between two of them.

"Don't you think you are assuming too much, Son? At least you care. I like your new development." A familiar booming voice interrupted Apollyon's rant. He knew this voice well. Too well. He came in a form of a chubby old man with a magnificent mustache wearing a small bowler hat.

"Dad?" Apollyon's eyes widened.

"My lord." Delirium slightly bowed. In the Presence's presence, she didn't dare behave silly. Well, too silly than usual.

"I told you to live among these humans. I didn't order you to do anything else specific. Everything else is your imagination, No?" The Presence continued. "Ironic isn't it? You and your siblings always rant about having no free will. Yet, when I allow you to have one, you still think you didn't have it."

Shocked. Apollyon went dead silent. He didn't know what kind of game his **Dad** was playing. This was a next level maneuver he had never expected.

"It seemed you still don't believe me. Huh." The Presence sighed. "Delirium." He called forth the youngest of the Endless.

"Yes, sir!"

"You are the wisest among the Endless. Also, the most insane, which make you able to see the thing even your eldest brother could not. Be there for him and help him live among the mortals, will you?"

" **WAIT WHAT! What. What. What the actual fuck?** " Apollyon ranted as he realized what his Dad implied. Before he could argue, the Presence vanished. " **This doesn't have my consent**!"

If there was a table lying around, he would flip it right now. Still, it's Delirium. What's not to like?

 _Don't even attempt to answer that question._

"So. Darling. Shall we?" Delirium asked in jest.

"Don't darling me, Deli." Apollyon hissed. "I'm not gonna do it when I know **Dad** is watching."

"I mean fixing the girl. Geeze. Do you have to think about sex all the time?" She laughed.

"Seriously? You take a 180 U-turn and take a high road?" Apollyon's jaw wide opened. She joyfully nodded. He really walked into that one.

"Well. Here's go nothing."

His hands lit up as his divinity flushed through. How hard fixing an 8-years old mind would be? He looked at his insane partner and found her doing the same. Within seconds, an amethyst light exploded from the little girl body at an astonishing speed. Half-a-breath later everything returned to normal. Like, normally normal.

Within seconds, the little girl woke up. She was oblivious to the whole thing.

"Awww. What happened?"

Apollyon faked a smile. He leaned down to her level. "Nothing much. Say, since your dad and mom will not be with you for a while. Do you mind staying with m.., us? with us? We could bring you to visit your mom every week."

Good thing that Delirium was here with him. By letting her share the responsibility somehow made it less weird. If his Dad aimed to force her on him, the least he could do was to make her a good use.

Little Artemis pondered for a while. She nodded her head. Right, she wanted to see her mom, but her dad would never allow her. Innocently, she asked. "What about my dad?"

"Do you really want to be alone with your father? He hurt you, didn't he? By words. By force. You are always the receiving end of his frustration. Do you want to see him ever again?"

The girl went silent. She thought long and hard. There was a truth in Apollyon's word, but she was still in conflict. Seeing the situation was still up in the air, Delirium decided to intervene. Her eyes gleamed with rainbow light.

Within a split second, the deeded was done.

"No. I do not. I will go with both of you, but you have to promise to take me to see mom every week." She childishly demanded.

"Yes. Yes. We could do that. With my help, your mother might even get out early. Then you can see her every day."

Apollyon patted her head. Then he moved his eyes from the little girl to the much older one. With a mental transmission, he asked. " _What have you done, Delirium?_ "

" _I did nothing._ " She replied in the same way.

" _You do. Your eyes lit up. Tell me._ "

" _Oh. It's just a little push I give her. She gonna come around eventually, so I decided to save some time._ "

"Are you sure it will not backfire on us?"

" _Please. Do you realize who are you talking to?_ " She crossed her arms and gave him a smug look. " _By the way, I temporary suppress all her memories about you being an angel and other supernatural stuff. You probably don't want your secret to be told by an over-energetic school girl in the near future. It will resurface around the time she is 16, give or take a year."_

Apollyon let out a long and heavy sigh. He couldn't believe what just happened. Two hours ago, he was chilling with his carefree life. Two hours later, he all but adopt an eight years old girl and had one of the Endless as a partner in crime. All thanks to his dear old **Dad**.

"Well then. We better get going. Pack your bag, little one. I gonna get us a ride and set up the place for you."

…

 **Outside the hideout**

He walked out of the compound. With his power, he summoned a convertible. The very same one he saw Lucifer own in the higher realm of existence. He had never been an imaginative sort, well what could he do. The car dashed out of the hellfire. As he turned the key, its engine hummed with power.

"I always know it is a good idea to buy a small mansion near Bruce's property. Hell, I should even by his manor had I know this will happen." He said to himself, out loud. "Well. At least I don't need a butler, but I might need some crews for my nightclub project though. I wish Lucy could see me now." He finished with a grin.

"Screw LUX and your classy little specs, Lucy. I will show you how it's done with my _**Masak Mavdil**_."

…

 **Tower of Dis, Dis, Hell**

Since she was made a sole ruler of hell, there was not a day gone by that the serpent queen, Ran Vaal Dath, didn't wish there was another war. Since she gained even more power and all those bastards in Masak Mavdil dead, thanks to Apollyon descension, everything had turned to stale. No one dared to challenge her anymore.

Well, there was still her son, Etrigan, but Merlin bounded him with Jason Blood once again. She couldn't even afford to be paranoid by her offspring. A demon lord like her thrived in conflict. If there was none, then what's the point of being a ruler.

She wished she could leave hell to escape all this boring stuff. Well, she technically could, but then there would be a war on a cosmic scale. While that would be fun, it would surely guarantee her demise. There were too many eyes aiming to control hell, not only the force of Heaven but other celestial beings, gods both old and new, outer dimensional entities.

Then the entire hell shook as one of its lords returned. Apollyon descended once again. Traveling via a streak of light, he burst forth in her throne room. As he unfurled his wings, the entire room was blown apart by an unholy storm. The storm was so strong some of her weaker attendants died on the spot.

With a nonchalant smile, he friendly said. "Sub. bitches. I have a job proposition for you."

"You came to my court and kill my useless minions to offer a job? Intriguing." Well. The day might not be as stale as she first thought. "And what job is that?"

"A bartender, on Earth."

"A bartender?"

"Think of it this way. You and your friends get out of hell and work for me for a while. When you decide to go back, and when I decide to let you go back, this place would be an absolute clusterfuck. Then you could conquer it all over again. Do we have a deal?"

"Anything is better than sulking in here. There was no fun without conflict anymore. Of course, we have a deal."

She didn't know what her former peer was thinking. But if it allowed her to get out of hell to have some fun, she didn't mind taking it. The prospect of let hell ruin itself so that she can conquer it once again was an exciting source too. She would be a fool to pass this kind of opportunity.

…

 **Well guys, that chapter 6 for you. 1 more chapter before the story of Young Justice Start.**

 **The next chapter will be three/four of them balling around and meeting with other leagues members.**


	7. Chapter 7: Celestial Hijinks 2

**Chapter 7: Celestial Hijinks 2 – Electric Boogaloo**

 **2004 A.D.**

 **Gotham**

It was barely a week after the incident that led the fallen angel to adopt the girl as his own. Batman did a good job securing him and his crew an identification. Somehow, no one even noticed how half a dozen people pop up out of nowhere at the same time.

Or in this case demon lords from hell. Handpicked by Apollyon himself for there obedience and common sense or lack thereof. One needed to be said that power is not a topic to be questioned. One does not hold a position in hell by being weak.

Also, Batman really did a good job.

Well, that, or Delirium had called in a favor from her eldest brother to shift " _Destiny_ " in their favor. Nobody would know.

Using his mortal identity, Apollyon rent out one of the most expensive space Gotham had to offer. Owned by none other than Bruce Wayne, of course. Currently, the place was in the decorating process and it was expected to be finished in months. Well, it would be much sooner if the fallen angel and his crew didn't go for a twisted version of high gothic style furniture. Apollyon was tempted to conjure one from hell, but after a little thought, he decided it would be a terrible disaster if one went missing.

He intended to spend quite some time on earth among mortals. He didn't want to bring forth the end times by accident or give his **Dad** an extra opportunity to screw him over.

By this point, the relationship between his Dad and him was no longer build on trust.

Supernatural problems aside, one might think he was crazy to open a new legit business in one of the worst locations ever. To many, Gotham might be a crime capital. Yet, to the people who work at Mazak Mavdil it's an all you can eat buffet.

Well, sort of. At least. Eat too much and those pricks from heaven will come knocking. Not that it would be a big problem, but it would make one lost an appetite.

 **7.00 AM**

 **Morningstar Manor, Gotham**

The house they are currently living in is much simpler. The entire manor was sparingly decorated. A Persian rug in the living room with a set of sofas and a long coffee table. Desks, chairs, and lamps in the library. The interior was painted white, while the small number of their furniture gave a color in the room. As in the fallen angel own's word "Keep it simple and serene. The place for having a wild party and calm rest should not mix."

Apollyon is not a kind of angel that could party all the time. That was Lucifer's thing. His manor reflects this virtue as such. Well, except for a special bedroom that he and Delirium did a certain "Thing". The room was enchanted with more magic and divine power than one could imagine. If the entire universe collapse, this room would still leave standing. Let's just say that things tended to escalate really fast when both of them are involved.

Even he knew his **Dad** was the one that set everything up, for shit and giggles, it's not that bad as he once thought.

But that's was not the main point of this story, is it?

…

It was the morning that he promised to take little Artemis to see her mother in jail. There was no rush, however, as the visiting period will not commence in another few hours. So, right not they are having a cereal breakfast together as any dysfunctional family of 2 primordial beings and a little mortal girl could be.

Coco Pops and milk. Full cream. Because both Apollyon and Delirium didn't have even the slightest idea what a good human breakfast looks like.

"Sooooooo." The little girl broke the silence with her mouth full. "I have a dream last night."

"Oh. Do tell. Is it about boys?" Delirium replied with a wide smile on her face.

Apollyon still didn't know why she was still here. Didn't she had a realm to rule? At this point, he was too lazy to ask.

"Nooooooo." giggled the little girl. "Well. There was a man. Pale, pale man. Black long messy hair. His eyes were weird though. The entire thing is pitch black, the middle is a small star. Weird, huh."

The two elder entities stopped smiling. Apollyon looked at Delirium. She gave him 'it's not me' shrug.

"So. Did he says anything?"

"He said hi."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. That's all I did to her." A cold voice cut him off. A shadowy figure formed behind the fallen angel. He was Dream of the endless. The third eldest. Master of dream and reality both.

"Sub. Brother."

"Sister. You look tired. I don't believe that is even possible."

"Yeah. All thanks to this big boy over here." She pointed at the fallen angel. "Polly here wore me out …"

Her sentence was stopped by the angel finger on her lips. He pushed hard because he needed her to stop talking immediately. There was a child at the table after all.

By this point, Dream slightly shook his head. No one wants to hear how their family behave in a sheet.

Unless your name starts with **L** and end with **Ucifer**.

"What's are you talking about?" Innocently asked Artemis.

"Errrrrrrr…" Apollyon suddenly panicked. He looked at the other two who had a big grind on their face. Seeing that they were enjoying this, he gave the most cliché answer ever. "I will explain it to you when you grow up. In about ten years. Or maybe seven."

"Oh. You mean naked sleepover stuff? Mom told me a long time ago."

"OH!" Three omnipotent beings bellowed loudly in surprise and amazement. "Welcome to the weird side of your new family then."

"So. Dear Dream. Care to elaborate?" The fallen angel asked as he finished his cereal bowl.

Yes, that was a threat. Apollyon didn't want any supernatural being to interfere with his life. Having **Dad** put Delirium here with him was more than enough.

"I need to make sure that her dream is guarded against Desire's and Despair's scheme. Or failing that, to let you know that I was not involved."

A strong wind blew inside the dining room, interrupting the conversation. The air sparkled as another two supernatural beings emerged from the void.

"Come on bother. We might be reckless, but we are not that stupid!" A new voice was heard. "Nor do we have a death wish."

Out of emptiness came two entity. One was tall, beautiful, alluring, and gender ambiguous. Another was a hunchback, short, pale, chubby, dreadful looking woman. Both had black hair and wore a full business suit. They were none other than Desire and Despair, the trouble twins from the Endless siblings.

This morning turned out to be a special occasion for a partial-family reunion. Very special indeed, considering that Despair decided to wear cloth.

His eyebrows twitched, Apollyon was annoyed. One Endless was more than enough to cause a headache. Four of them, that's a calamity.

"First, I'm impressed you're wearing cloth, Despair. Second, we are having breakfast here. So, would you three kindly **SOD OFF** and go back to rule your realm or something. Today going to be very busy. A lot of deal to be made. Intimidation to be done. Etcetera. Etcetera."

"But … But … you promise to take me to see mom today!" Cried an 8 years old girl. Her arms were crossed, and her lips were pouted.

Shit. He forgot that little Arty was still in the room.

Some plan didn't need to be announced. Especially to an eight-years-old girl.

" _ **BAMESA**_ (forget)." **/ Yes. I put the word in an online translator because why not?**

As soon as Apollyon commanded in Enochian, the girl stopped her adorable pout and remained still. One advantage of divinity at his level. The entire universe obeyed his command. He could change anything he wants. The catch is, changing too much and his **Dad** will intervene, correct the change, and probably dispensing a celestial ass kicking. The last part is nothing Apollyon would want anytime soon.

Still, he couldn't be bothered arguing with an 8 years-old girl.

"…. Whoa. What happened." Little Artemis innocently asked right after regaining consciousness.

"Well." He childishly replied. "You met Deli's siblings and you space out for a bit. Are you okay?"

She nodded. An obvious lie that no one bothered to correct. Or in this case, no one dared to correct.

"Good. Let's finish up your breakfast, we are going to be last for the visitation. Don't worry about doing the dishwashing. Uncle Dream had volunteered to do it for us. What a great guy."

As soon as he finished his sentence, he noticed an eyebrow raised by the second oldest of the Endless siblings. He winked back. A payback for interrupting their breakfast paid in full.

Breakfast was finished soon after. He took Artemis hand and led her out of the mansion. They were followed by Delirium, his partner in crime who also registered as the little girl's parents.

"Wait. How did three uncles get here?"

"They want to surprise you. Don't think much about it?"

…

 **One week ago**

 **Blackgate Penitentiary**

Paula Crook didn't expect any visitor, not after she heard that her husband was beaten half to death by Batman. She had to admit, that was un-batman-like. The work done on her husband body was described as one-sided as if he was psychotically torture without any chance of fighting back.

Sportsmaster would be bedridden for years. It would be a miracle if he would be able to walk again.

At least it would them from the life of crime. A life that she was ready to walk away from.

Her visitor was a young man, no older than 24, but she knew that look could be deceiving in her line of work. In the world where there are alien, meta-human, wizard, immortal being, and demon, only an ignorant take anything for granted. Most human belongs to that group.

"Mrs. Crock. How your life in a new gated community? Quite an upgrade from your criminal hideout isn't it?" The man mocked. "Apollyon Morningstar. We have heard a lot about you."

This is absurd. What kind of parent would name their child after an obscure demon? A mad man, at least not the Joker kind.

"We don't know each other. What do you want?"

"Oh. I know about you. Your daughter. …"

He paused as he sensed the tension from the crippled criminal.

"Who is technically my adoptive daughter now. …"

He paused again just to torture her a bit more. His eyes gleamed with joy when he was sure she internally screamed **WHAT!**

"Told me everything. Little Arty is a good girl. Tigress. Quite a fierce name isn't it? Rwarrr."

To add an insult to injury, he pretended to be a cat as he did the last part.

Had she not been crippled. She would stand up and punch him in the face right now. Prison or no.

"So … right … get to the point. I'm here to make the offer you could not refuse."

She gave him a silent treatment. This man was clearly mad. She paid no intention to an annoyance like him.

"After done serving your time here, I will arrange for you to be with your daughter. You will work as my housekeeper and, in turn, I will grant you a chance for redeeming yourselves. Even though I could not guarantee that your sins would be resolved, I could make sure that you would not end up in hell after you bite the dust."

Yep. Mad. Man. Who did he think he is? Jesus?

"No. That would be my brother." He answered it out loud. "Did I told you I could hear your thought?"

What. The. Fuck.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. No need to use that kind of language here. I know that you would be confused. An expected reaction from a mortal, in fact. Oh no. Not confuse is it? You are terrified." He joyously spoke. "Well then. Just a gesture of goodwill. Try standing up now."

What?

"Humor me."

She felt a vigor she didn't experience since she was out of a commission had returned. Finally, she could feel her leg again.

"Better than curing Leprosy or turning water into wine, isn't it?"

"How?" She broke her silence out of her curiosity.

"Well. Take a wild fucking guess."

An image flashed in her mind. The same man had a halo on his head. On his back was a pair of gigantic purple wings.

"Dad set your daughter in my path. He wants something. And, before you ask, I don't know what that is either. I decided to be a part of a new mundane family, but I feel like it would not be fair to take one away just to have mine."

It's a lie from Apollyon, of course. The truth was, he couldn't give a shit about what mortal thinks. He wasn't Lucifer so he didn't have to always tell the truth. Sometimes a lie is more convenient. People will believe what they want to believe.

Just as her hope was rekindled, her strength faded away again. She collapsed on her wheelchair.

"Now. Now. Don't get too excited. Being crippled for now will earn you more sympathy from your ridiculous justice system. You will be out of here faster if I'm not mistaken. About 6 years, in fact. Quite short, considering the life of those people you hurt and killed. What do they say again? You did the crime, you serve the time. Yes? No? Close enough? Whatever."

As soon as he stopped his speech, the guard came in. The visit time was up.

"Oh. One more thing. I don't believe in a third change. Whatever I could give, I could take it back much, much more. I will bring Arty here next week. You can thank me later."

…

 **At present**

 **Blackgate Penitentiary**

"Mom!" A little girl cried in excitement. She thought she would never see her birth mother again.

"Artemis!"

"I miss you so much!" The girl hugged her mother.

"Are you well? Where did you stay? Did anyone bully you?"

Questions after questions were asked with tears leaking from Paula's eyes. A touching moment to be sure. Too bad, Apollyon wasn't interested in that kind of thing. His goal lies elsewhere.

"Deli. Make sure that no one messes this up." The fallen angel leaned in on his supposed girlfriend.

"Mess up what?"

" _ **ACOCASAHE**_ (Time)"

Another Enochian word was uttered. With it, the time stops moving. The fallen angel winked as he went on his merry way, walking through walls into a hidden room to meet his objective.

"Sure, my dear. But it will cost you tonight." The Endless jokingly replied.

"Yeah. Yeah." He brushed it off. It's not like she would stop if he refuses anyway.

…

On the other side of the wall lied a hidden observation chamber. According to their lead, one of the highest priority threats to this world was to meet with a cripple criminal here today. Her target did a poor job covering his track to the point that it worried her. Why? Because it could mean two things.

One was that he is stupid. Very powerful but stupid and ignorant. That made him hard to be dealt with.

The other was that he was so powerful that no precaution need to be taken. It also meant that nothing they could to would hinder this monster.

Whatever it was, Amanda Waller didn't like it.

And then everything stopped. The pen that one of her subordinates spun was frozen in midair. Everyone retained their position and remained still. She didn't need to analyze the situation to know that she had fucked up.

Suddenly, her target phased through the wall and stared directly at her. In the surveillance camera, he looks like a normal human being, but that was not what she saw with her eyes. His skin was marbled white, his eyes pitch black with blood seeping down his cheek. On top of his head, there was a barbed halo. Just by the sight alone make her spine shaken. She wanted to scream in terror but his unholy aura prevented her from even moving an inch.

From her intelligence, he is a hellish demon-lord with great power. Technically, it's not wrong. Demon or angel, there is not that much difference in Apollyon's perspective.

Most beings in this lower realm of existence are equally insignificant as far as he is concerned.

"Amanda Waller. You are quite a legend from what I heard. Those little imps always use you to scare the little ones. No wonder that your name is already on my list even though you still have quite a few years to live."

With her quick reflex, she drew her pistol and attempted to shoot the intruder. Alas, it didn't work.

"I didn't expect that the warden of Belle Reve would have any jurisdiction here in Blackgate. Unless you are tied to some secret organization that is so paranoid it makes Batman look senile."

He didn't even care about her gun. The bullet would not even scratch his skin even it hit him head-on.

"What do you want? Demon."

"Straight to the point. I like your style." He continued. "I gonna make you an offer. Leave me, my crew, and my new dysfunctional family alone. You will also make sure that none of your merry crew or your friend would interfere with our lives. If you couldn't do it, I will find someone else who can. In return, will make sure that none of them would fuck this planet up. I will cross out your name from the list that I have. That's mean you are unwelcomed in my domain after you die. Do we have a deal?"

"There are more of your kind here?" She was alarmed. Her intelligence unit didn't warn her about any of this. The threat level was even larger than she imagined.

"Yes. All of them work for me. I will keep them in line if you mortals keep your end of this deal. Few sinners might disappear from time to time, …. Your welcome."

He snapped his fingers and his hand burnt up. Out of the flame, a business card came out. It clearly said _**Masak Mavdil, Gotham**_.

"I will take that as a yes then. Well, I'm expected to see you soon. In the club or in hell, whichever you prefer. I couldn't care less."

…

Amanda Waller stood in silent. Her strong exterior look was unmoving and unfazed even in the face of absolute destruction itself. Inside her mind, however, she was pissing herself. Time passed by after the conversation she had with the demon, but the fear that she felt didn't even decrease even a bit.

Fear was not the only thing that she felt. There was also an unspoken promise of utter annihilation of mankind if she didn't comply with his wishes. It was not a deal, it was an ultimatum. Any form of resistance was futile.

In front of her was a computer screen. The computer was a terminal to the highest security access to the best databank this world had to offer. It was given to her, as a position of her job. To protect humanity from all possible threat. A warden of Belle Reve was only a front to make her real job easier after all.

On the screen, one command was keyed. " **Delete all files linked to subject: Apollyon Morningstar. All further access is restricted**."

…

 **That's the 7** **th** **Chapter, everybody. Quite a bit late to upload this one. I need to rewrite this chapter over and over as the new idea keep popping up. Moreover, I don't have that much free time anymore. Enjoy.**


	8. Chapter 8: Independence Day part 1

**Chapter 8: Independence Day part 1.**

 **9** **th** **April 2010**

 **Gotham**

Little Artemis had lived with her adoptive parents for 6 years and a half now. She had to admit she was very young and very naïve when she was adopted after her real father, a B-rate villain and an off-time assassin was caught and sent to jail in a coma. Her mother was already in jail when she was crippled and took one for the criminal team. Her big sister abandoned her with her abusive father and never looked back. It must be a divine intervention that she wasn't sent to an orphanage.

Apollyon and Delirium were a godsend couple that swooped in out of nowhere and adopted her. **Literally**.

She was 8 then. A young and innocent girl who didn't understand the wrong her real parents had committed in their jobs. A little girl who didn't know better. A little girl who had no choice.

She's about to turn 15 now. Still young she might be, but innocent no longer. Especially when the mind-boggling shenanigan that Delirium cast when they first met started to wax and wane.

Which means she realized that her adoptive parents were not really human. At first, she was afraid. She was petrified. …. But she got used to it. An angel and an Endless for step-parents was not a bad thing to have. Everything surrounding them made life very interesting. Especially, Apollyon's crew at the night club.

One of which, had babysat her many, many times. Auntie Ran was … unique. At first, she thought that her auntie spent a lot of effort to look young, as she always told her that "she was a lot older than she looks".

Who would have thought a 30 years-old looking MILF was the current supreme ruler of hell. It would explain why she was able to boss everyone else around. It would also explain why **Abraxis** , the club's bartender, always address her as _Milady_.

If there is any being who can out-Alfred Alfred Pennyworth. Abraxis would be on top of that list. The damn guy would rather go shirtless to show off his magnificent peck than wearing anything apart from a tuxedo. Bowler hat and a monocle was also his common choice of attire, but not always. If he wanted to go casual, he would take those off.

Speaking of the devil, literally, some of the crew gathered at Morningstar manor. It was not for business or satanic ritual or anything. It's Friday night, and somehow, they were the poor souls that got roped into Delirium's Magic the Gathering playgroup.

Sat around the large round table were Artemis, Ran Va Daath, Abraxis, Delirium, Apollyon and Kent Nelson.

Yes, that's right, Kent Nelson. The former host of Nabu had nothing to do these days. Age over a hundred years old, most of his friend was either immortal like Wonder Woman or already dead. His wife already left him 12 years ago, passing to the afterlife. Ever since he sought a way to talk to her out of the loneliness in his heart. That's why he was here now. He made a deal with Delirium, now he paid for it by playing a card game with them every Friday.

At least all the thinking helped him delay his Alzheimer's. Too bad, he was facing an opponent that went full monored-burn.

What can you say? when you have a big sister that ruled the domain of Death in the multiverse, getting a lost soul like Kent Nelson to do your bidding was easy.

"How is it going, grandpa Nelson?" Asked the young teen.

"I hope you didn't drive a pickup truck through a farmer's market. I mean I saw one on the newspaper Master Abaddon read yesterday, he looked like you. Then again, all old human looked the same to me, somehow." Said the Bartender. "By the way, _Act of Treason_ your _Craw Wurm,_ swing you for lethal"

With a long sigh, the old man scooped his card. "Well. One, I'm just old, not senile, so you can go to hell. Two, drafting mono red, are you kidding me? Damn you demon."

"Anything is possible when you chaos draft, . As for going to hell, I'm afraid I need Master Abaddon permission to leave for that. Don't want someone to take over my bartender job." The demon bartender responded with a massive grin on his face.

"To answer your question Arty, I started doing tai chi at home. It really helps with my shoulder. Wait … Is that a cookie?" His eyes focused on a plate full of delicious-looking cookie.

"Yeah. Try it! I baked myself." Delirium eagerly handed the plate to the old man.

"No! Don't. It tasted like Vietnam's 1967. Napalm, Human abuse, Landmine, Genocide. It would be the best experience you had in your life, … because you will die right afterward." Apollyon took the plate off his pretended-spouse hand. "As much as I want you to be with your wife. I will not hear the end of it from the League if you die in my house."

"Speaking of the league …" Asked the queen of hell. "How's your training going, Arty? Abaddon trained you for years now, right? Are you really joining those crime-fighting clown?"

The queen spoke in disgusted. To her, crime-fighting is a joke. Whatever they do, sinners end up in Hell all the same.

"Abaddon. You already trained one for this city. Why do you need our precious Arty here doing anything?"

Merciless, heartless, remorseless, she may be. But the demon queen had a soft spot for Abaddon's little girl, no matter how hard she would like to deny it.

"There are a lot of wicked, petty people out there who couldn't do anything to us. The same fools who will see her as an easy target. Remember about two weeks after we starting the nightclub? Those fools tried to extort us for a protection fee. we refused, they tried to cause trouble, we beat them up, they tried to gun down the club, we sent their goons back in pieces, then they tried to kidnap our Arty from her school, so we sent Abraxis and Mephisto to _**'resolve'**_ the problem with their family."

By _resolve_ , Apollyon meant _to unleash the might and fury of Hell's vanguard. No mercy, No survivors._

"She can't be under our protection all the time. If she wants to choose the life of a costumed hero, then so be it. It's her life. All we can do is to support her on her choices."

"Damnnnnnn … We have a father of the year right here. How …. Sickening. If Etrigan said something like that, I would slap him so hard he unbounded himself from Jason Blood." The queen jested.

"What a great mother you are, Ran." The fallen angel retorted.

6 years had passed, and he still learning a new thing about the meaning of family every day. Although he wasn't sure was this what his **Dad** want from him, he wouldn't want this moment to be taken away. For all he knows, all the grand speech Dad told him could just be a way to assert another control over his non-existence freewill.

"By the way, Arty. _Twincast_. Then, _Traumatize_. Then, _Tome Scour_ to mill the rest of your library. I win again." He slammed down the card in triumph. "Boom! Who always draft monoblue and never lose? This guy!"

Sometimes Apollyon was the best dad anyone could ask for. Sometimes, he was just … ridiculous.

…

 **4** **th** **July 2010**

 **Gotham**

It was the same day as any other Sunday. Late breakfast, shopping, finishing homework, and an afternoon tea in the back garden. A normal afternoon for an unconventional family. Across him sat Artemis who was now 15 years of age. A full young adult with more of her repressed memory unlocked. Delirium was nowhere to be found. She was busy attending to her domain. A rare occurrence, considering how little she needed to work with it, for she was Delirium. Chaos and Order made not much of a difference there.

The thought of living under the same roof and have the man who beat your real father half to death for 6 years was …. Riveting. Scary and messed up as it might be, she had to thank the supernatural couple for taking her in. At least, it kept her away from becoming a criminal, or worse, an assassin for hire.

"Your mother will be released in a few months, isn't it?"

"Yes. So?"

"Remember the deal with your mom that I told you? When she is out, your choice is yours. She could live here with us. I will pay her as a housekeeper, like Bruce's Alfred. Or …. You can find a place and live with her if you prefer."

"Is that you want a crippled lady to be a housekeeper? Or you just want to kick me out?"

Ah, Teenagers. A flesh bag full of emotions and hormones. This one was well-versed in the art of sarcasm.

Laughing, the fallen angel replied. "Sweetie. I kept Paula crippled to help her get even earlier parole. You are and always will be welcome here dear. Unless you bring a boy home, or a girl if you swing that way, then I might need to skin them alive."

"…." Artemis was lost for words. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether Apollyon is kidding, giving a threat, or being dead serious.

"I'm kidding!"

 **Thank God. Literally.**

"But if two of you, or more than two if you that kinky, need to bang at the house, please notify me ahead of time. It will be awkward if I walk in in the middle of it."

"Ewwwwww." She spat the tea she was drinking. "That's gross."

"Hey. You are about that age; we couldn't be too careful. I mean Delirium and I always arrange to keep you out of the way. Why do you think we get Ran to babysit you or drop you off at Wayne Manor from time to time, huh?"

"For the love of God! Please stop!"

"I'm sure **Dad** wouldn't stop me, dear. But, very well. Let's change the subject. I heard Diana want to take you under her wings. … Where did you two meets anyway?"

"Well. Take a wild guess, Polly." The teen replied. A silence of her answer was more than enough. There was one place she would meet anyone that knows who he really is.

"You snuck into my nightclub?!"

"No. I just walk right in. I mean I know everyone who works there. Abraxis even gave me a free drink from time to time and auntie Ran make sure I was safe in there."

"You're 15!"

"And you are an ageless omnipotent angel who beat up my dad half to death! I see no problem here."

They stared right into each other eyes. No one wants to back down from the other's challenge.

Then they laughed. A sweet genuine laugh.

"That's my girl. So fierce. I'm so proud. Come on, give your daddy a hug."

"One, no. Not after the topic you just brought up. Two, No! You never age, and it would get even weirder from now on. Three, you are not even my real dad."

"Well, Arty. I'm the best one you got!" He raised his voice. There was no seriousness in their conversation, however. All was just a game of words to them. "… But I get your point though. Well then, about being a hero."

"You're not against it?"

She was surprised. Normally Apollyon and the others were very protective of her. She might no longer be a kid, but that had never stop them from going above and beyond to make sure she was safe.

"As I once said, your life is yours. All I can do is support your decision."

"Wow. Just. Wow. …. I don't know what to say."

"Then you don't have to. But in case you really want to become a hero …" He summoned vault from the darkest depth of hellish dominion. "Check these out."

It was body armor and a mask resembled a tiger. A body armor that fit the name of Tigress. Its color was as black as a starless sky. The aura it radiated was so inspiring she felt like she could take on the entire world just by wearing it. And the blade ….. The blade was unnaturally beautiful. A mere sight made her lost an ability to talk due to sheer joy from looking at it.

"As a homage to your mother's previous career, even though it was a misguided one but I had to admit she had quite a fashion sense. So, I commissioned a new Tigress armor. This one just for you."

"But my mother alias was Huntress."

 _ **Aww. Shit**_. He must hear it wrong all those years ago. No wonder, why Paula had a weird reaction when he told her that.

"… Oh. … Ballocks." His mouth was opened wide. He knew he fucked up.

"No. No no no no. It's fine. It's fine. Tigress sounds cool too. It's not that your ears were messed up or anything."

That's one thing he unknowingly thought her too well. Kicking people when they are down.

"Anyway ... Last question." He leaned in. "Why do you want to be a hero?"

"Because you train me these skills, create this armor and sword, I need to use it to do good, right?" She quickly answered. Choosing her words to make sure that the fallen angel would be proud.

It was a trick question, and she walked right straight to it. Well, she should learn something.

"No, Arty. I didn't ask _why you should be a hero._ I want to know _why you want to be a hero._ There is a big difference."

Artemis sat there silently for a while, contemplating the question she just heard.

Why does she want to be a hero?

To do good. _**Is it though?**_

To have fun. _**Her name was not Saitama, whoever he is.**_

To be something better than just Artemis Crock. _**Nahhh**_ **.**

To cleanse her family legacy of sins committed by her parents. _**Don't be dramatic**_ **.**

In the end, she couldn't answer.

"Don't worry. You don't need to answer that. Just give it a thought is okay." He patted her on the head. Smiled, the fallen angel finished his tea.

"Alright then. Let's go meet the League, shall we? Don your armor. I will get Diana to be your supervisor. Remember three rules and you will be fine."

"Rule number one, never let anyone know who you really are. If they know, make sure they do not talk about it by any means necessary."

"Rule number two, when you're in that armor you are Tigress, not Artemis. Don't mix your two lives together. Unless you are a being like me, it's going to mess you real up."

"Rule number three, I might pop up when you are being Tigress from time to time. I will try not to interfere with it, but when I do it will be under the alias **Halo**."

Artemis was taken back a bit … with a huge grin on her face.

" _Halo_ , huh. I thought _Guarding angel_ would sound better."

"Huh. As if …" He snorted.

They both wore the same wicked smile. A trait that somehow Artemis inherited from him.

…

 **Hall of Justice, Washington, D.C.**

It was a disappointment for Speedy. When his partner said that they would get the first step to become League members today, he was so hyped up. Yet, touring of the front for the real base was a letdown.

He thought they would trust them more than this. Especially after all the years he in this hero business. But they still treat him as a sidekick, as a child, and that was unacceptable.

"….. You promised us a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass." The teen archer voiced his displeasure.

As the argument about to erupt, a hole in the reality collapsed, creating a tunnel that two people walked out. One was a woman no older than they are. She wore black armor and had a sword on her back. She was stunning enough to take their breath away, in a dangerous way.

Damn these teenage boy's hormones.

The other person was a man with radiant magenta wings, probably a Thanagarian but with a marbled white skin. He also had a halo floating on the top of his head.

The entire hall of justice was clouded with black fog. No one from the outside could see what happens in there.

When it comes to privacy, Apollyon spared no expense to hide their identity, with arcane and eldritch means if he needed to.

Alerted by the intruders, the Leaguers and their sidekick alike were at their battle station. Well. Everyone except Batman.

" **Are we late? My bad.** " Apollyon/Halo sarcastically asked. His voice was altered too. One couldn't be too careful.

"Stop right there! **"** Arrows were drawn, Bows were strung, Trident and sword and pole were readied to strike, and Flashes …. Well the speedster did what they need to do.

" **Come on Batsy. Rein in your friends before they get hurt. I swear whoever get dirt on my Italian leather shoes, I gonna break their legs. "**

"Everyone. Stand down." Commanded the Dark Knight. He turned to the fallen angel with a serious look. "Sire? This is unexpected. You should notify me first if you want to do something like this."

" **I thought Diana already told you. Hmm.** " Apollyon/Halo floated to the side of Batman and swing his hand over the Dark Knight shoulder. " **Last week, Diana tried to take my little girl here under her wings.** **It's not my fault that you guys have poor communication skills.** "

He looked around the room to meet the glance of disapproval from the heroes. No matter, they would change their mind in a short time.

"Well then, sire. The League would be honored to have her with us." Respectfully replied Batman.

"Are you kidding me!" screamed the red archer. This day could have not been worse. It was one thing that the League threat him like a child. It was another to have some no-name girl to become accepted to the league ahead of him.

"I work as his partner for years." He pointed at Green Arrow. "Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and I even trained together, yet you all treat us as a kid, worse a sidekick. What's her excuse to get special treatment from the League?"

" **You want me to answer that, or you want to do it yourself?** " The fallen angel asked the Dark Knight. Of which the hero responded with a light nodded.

" **Well. Young man. There's no need to feel down.** " He flicked his finger once. The shockwave was strong enough to put Speedy on the ground.

" **I said, young man. Pick yourself off the ground.** " He pointed his finger up, and Speedy was thrown across the room.

" **I said, young man. 'Cause you're in a new town. There's no need to be unhappy.** " He slightly yanked his hand backward, Speedy was dragged across the floor back to his original position.

"Did he just sing YMCA?" Green Arrow whispered to Flash. They were shocked at the new development. The power was one thing, the choice of his song was another. But who could blame him? If had a chance to do so, anyone would do the same. At least, Oliver would.

" **Many of you might not know of me. That's typical, I suppose. That's the point of laying low."** He levitated above the floor. He also unleashed a sliver of his aura just to be more intimidating. " **You can call me, Halo**. **I trained Batman. Her name is Tigress. I trained her as well.** **Any fucking questions?** "

As expected, nobody has any objections. They know what's Batman capable of. Now, Imagined Batman with extremely powerful superpowers. Not a good target to pick a fight with.

" **That's what I thought.** "

"That's not fair! We work our asses off, just to get a fake treatment. We didn't even get to see the real HQ." Speedy threw his hat to the floor and walked out. "Fine. I quit. You can keep three of them here and get her to your watchtower or whatever. I don't care anymore."

The last sentence made every Leaguers stared at Green Arrow. A hard-penetrative stare.

"What? I thought we could make an exception." He shifted his eyes to Batman just to receive a signature Bat-Glare. "… or not."

Speedy's last words kicked the side-kicks hard. They tried to voice concern but was too obedient to do anything. Before the tension would die down, they were interrupted. A typical day for the Justice League.

"Superman to Justice League. There has been an explosion at Project Cadmus. The building is on fire." A transmission cut them as Speedy walked away.

"I had my suspicions about Cadmus. This might be a good opportunity to …"

"Zatara to Justice League." Another transmission was received. "The sorcerer Wotan is using the amulet of Atin to blot out the sun. Requesting full League response!" The magician quickly said in his Italian accent.

" **Cadmus had just a small fire. Let the kids handle it. By the way, how's it going Zatara? Didn't see you since you were a kid. And you Kal-El, I didn't see you since you were an infant. You guys grow up fast.** "

Everyone except Batman and Artemis/Tigress was stunned. Who the fuck is this guy?

" **Since many of your peers doubt me, Batsy. I will lend you a hand just this one occasion. Alright bitches, LET'S GO!** "

With a snap of his fingers, a mass teleportation spell was cast. Within a blink of an eye, all the Leaguers were gone. Leaving 3 boys and 1 girl in the room.

" **Oh, By the way. If anyone of you punk takes this opportunity to hit on my little girl, I will break all of your bones.** " His voice message echo inside the hall. Follow by a series of sinister laughter.

…

 **And that's the 8** **th** **chapter folk. My upload schedule is non-existent at the moment. So busy with my grad. Project right now.**

 **Anyway, thanks for all your support and see you all next time.**


	9. Chapter 9: Independence Day part 2

**Chapter 9: Independence Day part 2.**

…

 **Hi guys, I'm back. I know. I know. I was gone for a few months. But I'm done with my grad. Study now. So, it's good to be back. Here the 9** **th** **chapter.**

…

The plan was about to be completed. All the pieces fell perfectly into places.

Or that what the foul and evil sorcerer Wotan thought. The Amulet of Aten gleamed with power. When the eclipse was at its zenith, his ritual would be completed. He would be unstoppable. Not by the league, not by anyone.

He would be invincible.

Then the sky cracked opened with a bright divine light. Out of the light came his blasted foes.

The Justice League.

"A second-rate sorcerer with a mumbo jumbo requires a full respond of the high and mighty Justice League…." The unfamiliar marbled white figure said to Batman. "Seriously?"

"Second rate!? Insolent fools." The evil sorcerer bellowed. "Wotan will crush you like a bug."

The Amulet of Aten burned bright by the power of the sun god it's named after. With a flick of Wotan's wrist, the entire power of the sun was unleashed in a form of a searing beam.

Or that was it supposed to happen if it didn't explode right on the sorcerer's face. The explosion rocked the sky and sent Wotan plummeted straight down.

The pale man smirked. He turned toward Batman just at the moment the blue flash in his eyes died.

"Problem solved." The pale angel said as he rubbed his own hands. "You mortals always messing with a power beyond your understanding. Yet, you seemed surprised when things go wrong."

The entire League was still stun from the sudden divine teleportation. All except one.

Wonder Woman.

"Apollyon?" She asked.

"Diana. Long time no see." He gave her a peck on her cheek.

If it was any other man, doing that would be a death wish. But Apollyon was not any other man. The action threw the League in confusion, to say the least. Some raised their eyebrows; some shook their head in disgusted. Especially among the three feminine members of the league.

"Thanks for revealing my identity by the way. I thought I could go for a cool mysterious alias like Halo but …. never mind."

"Sire. What did you do?" Asked Batman as he signaled his peers to lower down their guard.

"Well. Elementary my dear Batman." He said in the most patronizing tone. "I reverse the arcane polarity on the amulet to burn out the circuit. The accumulated power then built up until the amulet couldn't contain it. Then … you know … a Big Boom." He explained as he danced around with childish hand motion.

"How? The artifact was ancient, probably crafted by the god Aten himself. It should be impossible to be tampered with."

"For you, maybe, Giovanni. Not for me. Your wife, on the other hand, might be able to pull that off. If she was probably trained, that is."

"Wait a minute. Guys. Everyone stop!" Yelled the youngest member of the League. A 10 years old boy in a body blessed by the false gods. "What was that? And who are you?"

The angel scoffed. He needed to do an introduction again. So instead of using words, he shapeshifted to his human form. There was not much of a reaction from the others as most of them still didn't know who he was.

"Well. I still don't know who you are." The boy-man scratched his head.

"Seriously. I thought I was on the news." He looked around, no response. "Apollyon Morningstar…." Yet, no response. "… The owner of the finest nightclub in Gotham, Masak Mavdil. …" There were few raised eyebrows, but no comment. "Come on, now you guys are taking a piss. Batman, Diana, a little help please."

"Oh no. I'm enjoying this. Actually, I should record this on a camera." She then proceeded to take out a phone and hit a video record. "So many people going to enjoy this."

The other leaguers were … perplexed. To them, Wonder Woman was a no-nonsense Amazon princess. Sure, she might crack jokes from time to time. Being friendly, or in a rare case, intimate. But never once, she was shown to be this … silly. And, somehow, that scared them more than the world ending scheme they came to stop.

"Wait! It's you!" Interrupted Giovani Zartara.

" _Che Bello!_ Good job, Giovanni. Tell them who I am."

"You are the guy that stole a holy relic from the Vatican when I was a kid!"

"For fuck sake!"

Everyone tensed up, apart from Wonder Woman who resisted the urge to laugh out loud by this point. The fallen angel was invincible but didn't mean he was flawless. When looked beyond the uncaring narcissistic exterior, deep down he was just a goofy man with a mess up upbringing. At least, that was she thought.

"Oh, Polly. Should I add enigma to your list of powers." A comment that caused Apollyon to look at her and rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, I would like to chat for some more. But there was 10 Class-9 Gordanians' Bloodstars heading toward Thanagar's space. Those fuckers still dare invade even after I told them Thanagar was under my protection. So, please redirect all the questions to Batman and Wonder Woman."

"What!" Shouted the two Thanagarians.

"Katar. Shayera. Call your superiors and ask about what happened. By the time that you do, I will probably be done with them anyway."

The fallen angel then disappeared with a blinding light.

"Errr. Guys." Asked Shazam, who was scratching his head. "What the hell was that!"

…

 **Meanwhile, In the Hall of Justice**

"So … are you three gonna stare at me for the rest of the night or we are going to do something about the burning building." Asked Artemis. "Come on, boys. Chop. Chop."

Silence fell inside the room. Three boys looked at each other, then back to the girl, then back to each other.

"Alright, time out! Excuse us for a minute, miss …" Said the young speedster.

"Tigress."

"Miss Tigress." Winked the Kid Flash. He smiled, then got punch on the arm by Robin. "Ouch."

Three young heroes moved to the other corner of the hall.

"Dude. What are you doing?" Asked Robin.

"Nothing. Just being friendly."

"That weird thanagarian just warned us about flirting with her!"

"I can't help myself, man. Come on, look at her. That's a ten." They turned to look at the one they talked about, of which she waved back.

"She's wearing a mask."

"Enough, two of you. We have a situation to be dealt with." Interrupted Aqualad. "They have a secret HQ in space. What else are they not telling us?"

"I have a better question. Why don't we leave with Speedy?"

"I have some idea." Kid Flash tilted his head toward the newcomer.

"That's a rhetorical question, Wally."

Once again, they went silent, until Aqualad broke it. "What is … Project Cadmus."

"Don't know …" was Robin responded. He paused then smiled. "… But I can find out."

They moved toward the main computer. Robin proceeded to search for something.

"You boys done yet?" Asked bored Artemis. "What are you doing now?"

"Justice League Business." Robin replied.

"ACCESS DENIED."

"Sure you are." Artemis was not impressed. But then the entire monitor shifted into a master control mode. All useless letters and data flood through the screen like in the movie The Matrix. She was not sure what that was for, but it seemed interesting.

"ACCESS GRANTED." The computer responded by opening a file of the Cadmus project.

"All right. Project Cadmus. Genetic labs. Here in DC. … That's all there is. But Batman's suspicious. We should investigate."

"Solve their case before they do. It would be poetic justice."

"Hey. They're all about justice." Joked Robin.

"But they said stay put."

"For blotting out the sun mission, not this."

"Wait, are you going to Cadmus. Because if you're going, I'm going." Asked Flashed. Robin nodded. Then both turned to Aqualad with the widest smile on their face."

"Just like that, we are a team on a mission … alright then … Wait. where is she?" Aqualad turned only to find that the girl was not there anymore. There was, however, a note written on a piece of paper.

 _I didn't come for a playdate. You boys were so useless, I decided to leave for Cadmus on my own. See you there if you want to come and have fun._

"And there's that. We better head out."

"Agreed."

…

 **Cadmus Advance Laboratory Research**

The fire was burning on the upper floor of the lab. Even though the firefighter had already arrived, it was barely contained. The stranded scientists were in a mass panic.

"Help!"

"Get us down!"

The firefighter tried to calm the victim down, but the explosion sent them flying out of the window. All seemed lost until a shadow figure flew in and grabbed the scientists, bounced on the wall, did a backflip, and landed then to safety on the ground.

That shadow figure was Artemis/ Tigress.

Before anyone could ask a question, a yellow blur caught up with her. It was Kid Flash.

"Anything that I can help? Milady."

"Huh. Charmed. You're quite fast."

"Fastest boy alive." He flexed whatever a little muscle he had.

"Oh, that's very brave. … to admit that you are a two-pump-chump."

"Wait that's not what …"

"Too late. So, where're your friends?"

"Oh. They're coming. Want me to give you a lift?" He winked again.

"How gentleman-like. We are barely met." She smiled back and extended her hand toward him. Just as he tried to grab it, she pulled away. "I'll find my way up, thanks. You can go on ahead, fast boy."

From the distance emerged two figures, Robin and Aqualad.

"Does he always have to run ahead? We need a plan. We …" Aqualad asked, only to find that Robin was no longer there. He looked around and found that Robin parkoured himself toward the upper floor, which followed by Kid Flash running up vertically.

Letting out a long sigh, he ran toward the building and extend his blade handle. "I need to borrow that." He controlled the water from fireman's hoes and used it to create a moving platform upward.

"Hey. Care to give me a lift?" Asked Artemis, waving at the Atlantean. Silent was his response, as he continued upward.

"Alright, Artemis. Think. What can you do to get to the upper floor?" She said internally.

" _You can use your super strength, for one._ " An answer came into her head in Apollyon's voice.

"Polly?"

" _How it's going my sugar plum fairy. I record this message in case you want to know more about the armor_. Give it a try and tell me how could get it improved."

"So. What can I do?"

" _What can you not do? The armor was forged in the deepest bowl of hell. It will grant you all the abilities of a demon. Super strength, agility, stamina. Fire-proof. Healing factor. Calling other demons. Et cetera, et cetera. And also something I call Oh-Shit-Hit-The-Fan-Override-Protecting-Artemis-Mode_. But I hope it would not come to that."

So, she concentrated. Imagine that she could jump 2 stories high. "Here goes nothing." She took the leap of faith and found herself flying off the ground. The feeling was amazing. Then, she perfectly landed in the same room that the three boys went in.

"I can't believe you left me behind? How gentleman you are."

"You are not supposed to be here. It's too dangerous." Argued the Atlantean.

"Dude, she just jumped 2 stories high. I'm pretty sure she could handle herself." Argued Kid Flash. "Are you an Amazon or something?"

"I'll neither confirm nor deny that statement."

"Played hard to get I see."

"Enough distraction. I saw something." Interrupted Aqualad as he walked toward the elevator.

"The elevator should be locked down." He was cut off by Robin, however, as the youngest among them checked with the data on his wrist.

"This is a high-speed express elevator. It doesn't belong to a two-stories building."

"Neither what I saw." Aqualad rammed his hands at the elevator's door and ripped it opened. The shaft was deeper than the building seemed.

"And that's why they need a high-speed elevator." Added Robin. He shot the grappling hook to the top of the ceiling and descended. Aqualad and Kid Flash quickly leaped on the line and followed. Seeing that, Artemis did the same.

The wire stopped at level SL26. The team jumped off and Robin did the hacking. No one said a word. Either it was because of the nature of a recon mission or they were just not that familiar with each other, no one would know.

"Bypassing security … There." Robin gave the signal for Aqualad to bust the door open. They walked in just to be stunned by what they saw. The hallway was long and seemed out of place. This was no laboratory, it was a military base.

"Welcome to Project Cadmus."

Before anyone would say anything else, Kid Flash took off. Only almost to be trampled by a giant genomorph. Luckily the genomorphs did nothing and ignored them.

"Does he always do that?" Asked Artemis. She was officially not impressed with the sidekicks. No coordination, no planning, no thinking at all. The other two looked at her but didn't say anything. A silent treatment.

Yep. She declared this sidekick team officially suck. Still, she had to admit that her behavior was … let's say, quite a bitch. But hey. This was her first day.

The team continued forward into another section of the lab. The room was littered with hundreds of genomorph suspended in an unconscious state. The creatures generated electricity, powering the lab off the grid. It did not take long for Robin to find a computer terminal and hacked it. The result was … intriguing.

"They're engineering an army. But for who?" Asked Kid Flash.

"Wait, there is something else. The project Kr. The file is triple encrypted. I. I can't .."

"Don't move!" Someone interrupted their discussion. Someone in armor with shield and a squad of small genomorphs. The man looked blank like he was not fully there.

"Ah. A fight. Finally." Smiled Artemis. At least she could do the test run on her armor.

"Wait, Robin? Aqualad? Kid Flash?" He recalled the young hero name. Then he looked at her. "And who are you?"

"Don't worry. She's new.… and she's with us." Answered Aqualad. "I know you. You're Guardian. A hero."

"I do my best."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I'm chief of the security. You're trespassing. But we can call the Justice League. Figure this out."

"You think the League will approve of you breeding weapon?"

"Weapon? What do you …" Guardian stopped midsentence as a genomorph on his shoulder lit its horn. "What have I …. My head …" His eyes shifted. There was no remorse in there, no emotion, only command. "Take them down h…!" Before he could finish his sentence, he was kicked across the room by Artemis.

"Are you boys gonna help or what?" She asked as she drew her sword. The fight began soon after.

The genomorphs went into a rabid frenzy. Their horns flashed read as they screamed. The closet one lunged at Artemis. With her instinct, she cleaved it in two with her sword. The dead genomorph immediately combusted to a black smog.

Then, the horror. The rest of the genomorphs screamed in pain. Their eyes widened as they wailed on the floor.

"They feel pain? They're alive?!" She asked in. "Shit!" Two more pounced at her but she deflected them with the flat of her blade. With the continuous momentum, she sheathed her weapon and punched the incoming threat. The demonic enhanced strength was enough to knock them out cold.

"What part of ' _living weapon_ ' did you not understand?" Robin yelled. He dodged the incoming enemy and hit it with his bo staff.

"If my sword could talk, I will not be using it!" She retorted as she threw the last one at the wall. "Well, that the last one?" Just as she finished, ten more appeared. The others look at her as if telling her _'you just jinx it_ ' when Robin threw a smoke bomb and disappeared.

"We can't stay here. We need to move." Ordered Aqualad. With a cover of the smoke bomb and the 'three ran. It did not take them long before reaching a dead end with a locked elevator. Robin didn't spare anytime to hack into it.

"Can't you go any faster?" She asked. A comment that gave Kid Flash a snickering.

"Almost there. Now!" The elevator's door opened and the four got in as fast as they could. The genomorphs missed them by only an arm's length. Finally safe, The four young heroes took some time to rest.

"Quite a good move you got there, bird boy. I'm impressed." Artemis initiated small talk. "Especially a ditching us and run part."

"Hmm. You're right after me aren't you? So. What's the problem?" Robin replied with a smug.

"Err guys why did the number increasing?" Interrupted Kid Flash.

"We headed down?" Asked the Atlantean. He was not amused, not for a newcomer, not for their breaking of rules, not for their fight with another hero, and especially not by Artemis accidentally killing of a living weapon.

"Out is up!" The speedster added.

"Excuse me. The project Kr is down, on sublevel 52."

Yep. Artemis finally confirmed. This group of sidekicks had no teamwork at all.

"This is out of control. Perhaps we should contact the League."

Just when the boys about to argue, the elevator stopped. They had reached sublevel 52. The door opened to reveal that it was not a laboratory anymore. It was a lair of some sort. It made Artemis uncomfortable. Quite a feat considering that she lives with a bunch of demons.

The teens explored deeper into the lair only to stop at the forked path. There were monitor screen and some lab equipment everywhere, but something that could be called project Kr was nowhere to be seen.

"Hold!" They heard someone shouted. The owner of the voice came out from the corner. He was a human-looking genomorph. Without further conversation, his horn lit up. The barrel on the floor was levitated and thrown at them with blinding speed.

The four dodged just by a nick of time and escaped the explosion unharmed. Robin countered with his Batarang only to found that his aggressor could stop it with his mind. Seeing that, the four ran away deeper into the den.

"What was that thing?" Artemis yelled.

"Don't think. just run?" Kid Flash replied as he speeded past her. Lucky for them, they were heading to the right place and the door just opened. "Whoaaa." Kid Flash tried to stop as he saw a scientist walking out of the room. He slipped and crashed into her.

Seeing the door to their destination was closing, Kid Flash picked up a power cell and jammed it, urging the others to hurry up. Once again, the four escaped by a strand of a hair.

"I disabled the door. We're safe." Said Robin. He was stressed, that could be clearly seen. They all were, but he was more than the others.

"We are trapped." Replied Aqualad. He was not happy about it either.

"Err. Guys." Interrupted Kid Flash fiddling the console. "You'll wanna see this." He pressed a button and the main tank in the room lit up. Out of light came a familiar face. He looked like Superman but younger.

"Damnnn!" Exclaimed Artemis. "Is that who I think it is?."

"Big K, little r. An atomic symbol for Krypton. Clone?"

"Robin. Hack." Commanded the Atlantean. The pretense of nicety was abandoned at the point.

"Right. Right." Robin hacked and read what he discovered aloud. "Weapon designation Superboy. A clone forced grown in … 16 weeks! From DNA acquired from Superman." He then continued. "The solar suit allows it to absorb yellow sun radiation 24-7."

"And this creature?" Asked Aqualad pointing out a small creature in the tank.

"Genomorph gnome. Telepathic. Force feeding him an education." Robin answered.

"And we can guess what else. They're making a slave out of … well, Superman son."

"Now we contact the league." Aqualad press Atlantean's symbol on his belt. The other two did the same but there was no signal.

"We are in too deep. Literally."

Artemis observed and said nothing. " _Okay. How could I contact Auntie Ran._ " She concentrated.

" _Well. You're doing it right now. Boy. You are so natural_."

" _Thanks_."

" _I'm a recorded voice, Arty. I can't hear you. Make sure to do it to my face alright_."

…

 **Masak Mavdil's Manager Office**

The serpent queen was chilling around in her office as she waited for the time the club to be opened. Abaddon had told her to stay put as there might be a call from her little Artemis. He also left her some instruction that she didn't agree with, but hell what could she do?

The call indeed came. She picked it up from her totally-not-demonic-device.

"Hey, Arty. How it's going my sweet little rascal."

"Ran. I need help here. I was trapped in …"

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Did you have your armor on?"

"Err. Yes, I do. Why?"

"Then I can't help you. Abaddon command the others that your armor should be enough, he went fighting some alien fleet on the other side of the universe, and I have a night club to run."

"What!" The girl screamed at the other end of the line.

"Trust me, you will be fine. So, give them hell, alright! You go, girl, XOXO."

…

"Well. Shit." Artemis cursed as she hung up her first psychic call. "The good thing is, I got through. The bad news is there will be no help coming. Don't ask me why. It's complicated."

The three boys glared at her. She couldn't believe that the tension could be higher. "Well. That aside. What do we gonna do with him?"

Artemis and the other two boys looked at Aqualad. They might not willing to admit but he seemed to have all the answers.

"Set him free."

…

 **That's the wrap-up, folks. I'm not sure how well I portrayed the character here. When I introduce the change, I want the world to feel more alive than just putting another character into the story and let everything else pan out the same. Not sure I achieve that though.**


	10. Chapter 10: Fireworks

**Hi guys. Long time no see. Truth be told, I procrastinate far more than I would like to admit, but I'm back now.**

 **I just read the news that Sandman is coming to Netflix and Tom Elis might cameo as Lucifer in it. Well, that gives me some new ideas.**

 **Maybe a relationship between our fallen angel and the endless might not need to be just friends with benefit after all. Whether it would happen in this story or not, I didn't decide yet.**

…

Chapter 10: Fireworks

The darkness of the void over was peaceful. Nothingness was the only place that one could finally felt **serene**.

Well, if you ignored a fleet of warships warping out from the hyperspace.

The Situation on planet Thanagar was a mess. Their fleet was engaging in the skirmish at the border of their empire. And somehow the Gordanians, their hated foe, discovered a secret galactic highway that allowed them to jump right close to their homeworld. Whatever their force that was stationed there would not be enough to protect the planet from class-9 Gordanian's fleet.

Yes. Thanagar was not left unprotected. But two warships without a full capacity would not be enough to contest with the enemy fleet. There was no winning move. The only thing they could do was to minimize the loss.

In a word, a clusterfuck.

…

 **In Thanagar's emergency war room**

"General. What's the status on the Gornadian's fleet?" Asked the leader of the war council.

"10 class-9 bloodstars, Sir. With a force that size, we could recall our all forces from the nearby sector to keep them occupied until the help arrive from the main fleet at our border."

"But that will weaken our border for their main bulk of the invasion. They would be expecting us to call our forces back and attack our frontier colony." Argued the other councilmen.

"Yes, councilman. Sacrifice needs to be made. Either way, we will suffer a heavy loss. Our fleet could outmaneuver them to reduce the damage and we need to surrender a few frontiers, but that would be better than losing Thanagar."

"How many do we expected to lose?"

"Fifty billion at least, excluding infrastructures and warships. An acceptable loss. Our people at the frontier know what they sign up for. They will gladly forfeit their life for our empire." Replied the general.

"My. My. My. If those suckers at the Justice League could see the greater good like you, there would be so much less trouble on Earth." Uttered an intruder who appeared out of nowhere. He was a Thanagarian, or at least look like one to them. Well, that's how they perceive him anyway.

That's because celestial beings like him appeared to mortal in a form dictated by their belief. Without a glamor, celestial beings would appear as what others perceive as gods. Fallen or not Apollyon was still one. The same rules also applied to those like the Endless. Quite convenient, really. No awkwardness from the difference in perceived appearance.

To Thanagarians, he was a mixture between one of them and one of their old gods. An eldritch abomination resembles a long-abandoned deity since the day their race evolved from superstitious fools. An appearance that had not appeared since their race decided to be slave no longer and broke their chains from the great old ones.

"Let me give you another option. Do nothing and let me handle it. Just enjoy the show." Said the Fallen Angel. "I offer Thanagar my protection."

A loud crack interrupted Apollyon's monologue. The leader of the war council violently smashed the table.

"Under your protection? Do you think us a fool? We are free from your kind. Now and forever. Guards, kill the abomination, Now!"

That were bold words, but no real power to back it up. The moment the guards touch their weapon was the moment their wings were crushed and their body flung across the room.

"Oh. You think that I'm Ixthultu ilk. And here I thought your kind are more enlightened, at least less superstitious than human. Shame. Such a shame.

Don't be mistaken. Your entire species are not that important, just the closest planet that could provide an acceptable wings care service in this side of the galaxy."

Apollyon spread his signature amethyst wings as he unleashed a sliver of his power. It seemed these mortals were yet to move on from the shadows of what they perceived as of gods. Fools, all of them. Not that he cared though, Apollyon always did what he wants, when he wants.

…

Deep in the void of the outer space, the Gordanian fleet sailed toward their destination. Their strike would decide the outcome of their long war against the Thanagarians. How blessed are their creator that they discovered a secret galactic highway that allowed them to attack the Hawkworld itself? Oh, how they would level these curs homeworld to ruin. They would burn the very sky itself and slaughter the winged bastards to the last.

Today, Thanagar would fell. Tomorrow, the rest of their wretched empire would follow.

Ironic. Really. The Gordanians didn't expect a warp-riff to be opened right above their fleet. Nor did they expected giant tendrils to emerge from it. Two ships were destroyed right away as the portal opened. Their energy shield provided no defense against the attack. The tendrils cut through their ship with no effort.

One second. All it took was one second for one-fifth of their fleet to be lost. All the boarding crews were dead soon after. Yet, the crews of the remaining ships had much worst fate installed for them. The tendrils didn't stop at destroying two ships. They continued on, not to destroy but to drag everything else through the portal.

Where's the portal led to? **Hell, of course.** Where else would they go?

…

The stunt that he pulled last only ten seconds. **TEN SECONDS**. Gordanian's fleet that could level an entire advance planet, GONE. **TEN SECONDS**. The world-ending crisis, **STOPPED. TEN SECONDS.** That was not enough time for the war council to process things.

"Oh, Ye of the little faith. Can't even comprehend the greatness of the divine." His mere presence was more than enough to suffocate them, forcing them to kneel and their wings to go flaccid. "Well. Gentlemen. If there's nothing else, I'm going to a wing-spar."

The angel assumed his human form, a black suit and all.

"By the way, don't fuck with Earth. It's mine. Only I can do it."

…

 **Justice League's Watch Tower, Earth**

Things got Awkward for the Justice League. The world-ending threat that assembled all of them was gone in seconds. Now they had nothing to do. Apart from questioning Batman and Wonder Woman about the newcomer, there was one thing left to do. Proof the validity of Apollyon's absurd claim.

"Katar, Shayera, we're just about to contact two of you." Said the Thanagarian commanding officer, Fell Andar. "How the study of Earth police method going? After what happen, I expect we're going to need a proper police force to keep the worried citizens in line ASAP."

"Sir. Is it true that Thanagar is under attack?" Hawkwoman asked. It was the question that was met with an awkward silence.

"We were." The officer uneasily replied.

"Were?"

"One of the old gods showed up, claimed that we are under its protection, and proceed to annihilate the entire Gordanian's fleet in ten seconds."

" **WHAT!** " The hawks screamed.

"Is it true that that thing came from Earth?" Asked the commanding officer as he put up the photo of Apollyon in human form on the screen. "Have you seen this … thing?"

"Yes, sir. It revealed itself to the League today. Some of the League members have a connection to it, I will send you the full report after I interviewed everyone from the Earth's Justice League that are involved.

In brief, one of the Earth's villain tried to use the magical artifact to gain power. Both of us were notified that it will be required a full justice League response. Suddenly a light engulfed us and all of us were transport to the ritual site. Before we could react, it defeated the villain without any effort. Then, it introduces itself as Apollyon Morningstar, claiming it to be an angel, a mystical entity according to Earth's belief. It appeared to look like us the last time we saw it. I will try to gather more information from other members of the Leagues, sir."

The officer nodded in agreement. The information was promising, it would be enough for him to answer to the council.

"Did it say anything? What does it want?"

"Not much. We were notified that Thanagar was going to be under attack before it left. That would be about an hour ago."

Their answer made the commanding officer's eyes widened. He uttered a single word. "Impossible."

Why impossible? Because this means that it could transverse across galaxy in a blink of an eye, without any helps from any technology. Not even the New gods could do that. Not that the Thanagarian knew.

"Sir. This might be above my paygrade, but might I asked, what does it want in return for saving Thanagar?" Asked Hawkman.

"That is a good question, Katar. We are still not sure about the answer. It seems to hold no interest in forcing us to worship it. From what it said, and I quote, it only keeps us around for our wing-spar. We are not sure about the validity of that statement, but I was reported that it indeed uses our wing-spar service, the left without paying. We found no trace of that thing ever since.

It also stated that, and I quote, _don't fuck with Earth. It's mine. Only I can do it_. The high council wants two of you to keep a close eye on it and report everything you found. And for the love of all Thanagar, whatever happens, do not intimidate that thing. If you have more time, please find out why anything wants to impregnate a planet for us too, so we can prepare for the worst

I need to report all this to the high council. I expect you to send me the full details as well as recorded footage of all its interaction in three days. Valor guide you, Andar Out." The commanding officer cut the transmission as he saluted the two heroes, both also did the same.

Silent fell in the transmission room at the watchtower as the communication was terminated.

" **WHAT THE…!** "

…

 **Project Kr, Sublevel 52, Cadmus Advance Laboratory Research**

"Set him free." Said Aqualad, the de facto leader of the makeshift team. Or at least the most assertive of the four.

With a quick input in the console, the subject was released.

"Set him free? What if he turned on us!" Proclaimed the only girl in the group. "Who knows what those genomorphs are feeding him? He could be a rabid beast for all we know."

A rabid beast. Her mind ran wild. With those muscles and a sharp face. A brute like him would make a fine pet. It would be so much fun dominating him. Having a personal Kryptonian manservant, among other things, would be wonderful. She knew at least auntie Rann would approve.

"Oh, come on. I'm sure he would …" That was all Kid Flash could mutter as he was punched in the jaw by none other than the Kryptonian clone. The hit was so hard it launched him flying and crashed the barred door.

Kid Flash was out. COLD.

"I told you so!" Said Artemis as she drew her blade and readied her stance.

The monstrous Kryptonian clone lunged at her with blistering speed and she barely dodges it by the strand of her hair. Her adoptive father was right. Her footwork could use more practice. She didn't stand idle after the dodge; however, she knew an opening when she saw one.

The Kryptonian clone's back was exposed after he missed his target. That's where her blade would go. Aim for the kill, she trusted the sword through his heart. Well. She tried, anyway. Hesitated at the last moment, she shifted her aim a bit lower and punched through his left lung.

It was a moment of horror for everyone except Artemis. When the blade pierced through Superboy's back and came out his front, it screamed with joy. Its fine edge sucked up all the blood that seeped out from the wound.

Superboy screamed in pain as he fell. He was supposed to be invulnerable. He supposed to be a living weapon. Then why did it hurt so bad? Why did he suddenly felt all his power was drained? He didn't get to think for long, however, for he felt a solid boot slammed on the back of his head as his attacker dismounted the sword from his body.

"Don't get to excite, Handsome. Don't make me hurt you more than I already did. Unless you want to play rough, I could take away one of your arms." She teased the wounded clone further. "What? They could clone the entire body. I'm sure they can do just an arm." She turned to the boys, who stare at her with unbelievable eyes.

"This is not a game, Tigress. Let him go!" Shouted Aqualad.

"Let him go~" She mocked. "Are you serious! He could kill us! I mean, he could kill you. I think I can handle him."

"LET. HIM. GO." The Atlantean repeated. He summoned his water-formed weapon.

"Fine." She stomped hard on the clone head, keeping him down. "If this somehow biting us in the ass, I'm blaming you."

The fight died down as fast as it started. With that little outburst, the tension resumed. It was not long before a juvenile hero wannabe started pointing fingers.

"You are way out of the line! We do not kill, Tigress."

"He knocked out Kid Flash and jumped me! What do you expect me to do? Spank him for being a naughty boy?"

"Enough!" shouted the Atlantean.

"Hmph!" She crossed her arm in annoyance. 'Atlantean prick. Pretend to know it all and look down on me from the moral high ground.' She internally cursed.

As the tension at its zenith, Robin decided to step in. Ironic. The youngest sidekick, barely a teen, was the one to climb two young adults in their stupid argument. "Guys. Guys. Chilled. We need a plan. Especially, what to do with that." He pointed at unconscious Superboy. "And that." He pointed at unconscious Kid Flash. "Moreover, we need to find the way to get out of here."

…

 **5 minutes later**

It didn't take long for the two unconscious boys to wake up after Aqualad splashed them with seawater over and over. Kid Flash still had a minor concussion. It was a minor problem compare to what Superboy suffered. A blade size hole through your lung would knock the wind out of anyone, alien or not. Lucky for him, it made him not combat-ready after wakeup.

Because if he fought her again, it would not end with a single hole through his body. It's not that she was so skilled or so powerful that he couldn't keep up with. It's only that she had a clearer mind, more trained, and not behave like an angry child throwing a tantrum like he was. More importantly, his Kryptonian overpowered heritage did jack shit against that sword.

Not that he currently had the brain capacity to realize that.

"OOOOOOOCH!" cried the speedster, oblivious to the entire thing. "What happened?"

"What happened? What happened is that I'm kicking 's ass over here." Smugly said Artemis as she still holding the clone's head down with her heel.

"What happened was that you were out of control. You are irrational, didn't listen to order, disregard of all life, and didn't take this seriously. You don't belong here!" yelled Aqualad.

That's it. That's was the last straw. 'Well fuck that' Thought Artemis. 'These sidekicks had their heads up their asses. I'm fucking out of here.'

"We all don't belong here! What's your problem? You keep dissing me since the moment we met. Did my presence irritate your fish fucking brain so much you can't stand me?"

Her expected outburst silenced the room. "You know what. I'm getting out of here." She sheathed her weapon and rushed down the barred door. Building up speed she summoned her not-so-well-studied power from the armor and unleash it at the barricade.

The obstacle became dust the instant her fist touched it. When the dust cleared, she saw more genomorphs, a horde of small ones and three giant ones, there was a one that looks humanoid and two others human, male and female. Oh, Guardian was with them too. Not that it would make any difference form making her stay here.

"Move!" She demanded. Of course, none of the Cadmus's personnel complied.

"Stop her! Take them dead or alive. I want her as a new specimen." Commanded the scientist. His nametag labeled 'Dr. Desmond'. Clearly, he held the authority here.

Three little genomorphs jumped her as the command was given. In-kind she responded with the edge of her blade, sliced them in twain with one strike. She was done giving a fuck. They are clones, they are controlled, they are not alive. Even if they were, death would be a mercy. That's what she used to justify her actions.

Artemis continued to walk forward as if nothing had happened. More genomorphs rushed her only to be cut down without remorse. Her eyes were as cold as the depth of the abyss itself. Even a few giant genomorphs, those that were labeled 0427, were not strong enough to be a hindrance for her. Their movement was fast for creatures their size but compare to the speed enhance by the demonic armor they were akin to standing still. Even the colossal strength they were bred for was overpowered by the teenage girl on her rampage. A punch that could turn a normal man into a mush did nothing to the armor-wearing girl, not even a dent, not even a staggered. On the other hand, her punch was more than enough to break their bone.

Seeing that the swarming of physical attack might not work, the psychic leader of the genomorphs decided to intervene. I horn flashed read as it attempted to stop her using telepathy. It soon found it effort futile as Artemis's armor unleash a psychic backlash that temporarily fried its brain.

"Fuck. Off." She annoyingly said as she cleaved apart anything that barred her way. She continued walking.

Seeing the unconventional sight in front of them, the other three conscious young heroes looked at each other in shocked and disgusted. Training to be a hero they might be, however handing a raging superpower girl was not in the curriculum or any girls in that matter.

Lucky for them she didn't have that time of the month, or Aqualad would be a fried fish like now.

"Enough!" Artemis heard as she walked past the pathetic angry scientist, shoving him out of her way. "Project Blockbuster will grant me the power to restore **ORDER**!" He dug into his cloth and grabbed a test tube containing an unidentified liquid. Unplugged the lid, he recklessly drank it all in one go. The result was almost instantaneous as he turned into a horrific monster.

A smart man should know that horrific didn't always mean powerful, as , now called Blockbuster, would learn in a few moments.

"PISS. OFF." She caught the brute's hand as it tried to punch her. In retaliation, she gave it one of her own. And again. And again. And again. Each of her punch packed enough power to shatter a steel wall. With each punch, her eyes burnt brighter and brighter as her consciousness started to slip away.

" **REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!** " She screeched as she stomped on Blockbuster head for the final time, knocking him out cold.

"Humph!" She snorted as she left the boys staring at the destruction that she brought to the Cadmus lab. It was only a moment before she reached the surface and met with the entire Justice League descending from the sky.

"Well. Shit."

…

 **Outer Space, Location Unknown.**

After getting his wings done, the fallen angel decided to take a short break looking at the endless void that was the outer space. He had anticipated the repercussion from the Angelic Host of the Silver City. He didn't care though, as they were not powerful enough to demand anything from him.

Unless **Dad** sent another of his more powerful sibling to keep him in line, he would fear no one. And his was sure that **Dad** was not going to do it.

Well. He was going to be surprisingly disappointed.

"Hello. Brother." Greeted the man that stepped out of the void. Originally, he was half-white and half-black, not in the mixed-race kind but his right-half was so dark it devoid of any light while the left-half was so bright it blinded everyone looking at it. The form didn't last long, though, for the man shifted into a more familiar sight. An Italian man wearing a trenchcoat that made him looked like a pedophile sheep.

"Uriel?" He was surprised indeed to see the brother he thought was forever lost. " **WHAT THE F…!** "

…

 **Oh Shit. Uriel is back?** _ ***Laugh in Crime Fighting Devil***_

 **I also decided to use DCAU canon for Thanagar instead of the comic. I think it would fit more in the narrative that I planned.**


End file.
